The Importance of Thanatos
by D.Minx
Summary: Third part to P.o.P & D.H.L: Life is hard when your a little godling growing up in the Underworld.. but as Thanatos gets older the Fates begin to take a serious interest in him.. what do the sisters of destiny want from the son of Hades?
1. The Fates' BIG Mistake

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

_To all my loyal fans who have stuck by me, reviewed me or otherwise made small contributions to my Hades&Seph saga… this one's for you!_

**Chapter One:****The Fates' BIG Mistake**

…_Seven years previously…_

Hercules reluctantly allowed Hades to guide him in through the black archway and down the long thin jetty of the huge cavernous room. As they approached the edge, Hercules found himself gazing down into an enormous vortex of swirling vividly green fiery water.

Seeing the look of shock on Hercules' face Hades smirked and clapped his back smartly.

'Hmmm.. well, well, it's a small Underworld after all, huh?' The fiery god couldn't help but jeer, Hercules was on his turf now… here Hades was all-powerful, not even with his godly strength could Hercules beat him..

Suddenly Hercules caught sight of a pale wispy figure just under the surface of the water and without even thinking he dipped his hands in crying out,

'Meg..' Instantly a burning sensation shot up his arms and he hissed painfully in surprise, the ghostly figure of Meg floated onwards out of his grip. As the young hero pulled his hands up he noticed they'd aged under the water. Hades instantly reprimanded the hero.

'Uh-uh.. nuh, nuh, nuh, no.. mustn't touch.' Hades' words washed over him as Hercules gazed both stunned and repulsed as the waters effect slowly wore off. The fiery god merely carried on lazily unaware that Hercules seemed to be formulating an idea. 'Ya see, Meg's running with a new crowd these days and not a very lively one at that..'

'You like making deals..' Hercules sounded suddenly, turning around to the smug self-satisfied smirk on Hades' full blue lips. '-take me in Meg's place..'

'Hmm.. the son of my hated rival trapped forever in a river of death..' Hades uttered, briefly toyed with the idea as he tapped his chin. Hercules didn't have the time or the patience for his uncle's silly games.

'Going once..' He declared, throwing out his arm with one digit up.

'Is there a downside to this..?' Hades muttered to himself, almost positive that there was some reason why he should not accept this offer… what was it again?

'Going twice..' Hercules smirked repeating the arm action, this time there was a second digit. Hades shook his head sharply… he hated being rushed, especially when he knew there was something he was missing, but the kid was being annoyingly impatient and he was running out time.

'Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay..' Hades suddenly leered evilly before switching to deadly serious then adding, '-you get her out.. she goes-' His long fingers gestured away from him. '-you stay..' His fingers instantly pointed downwards meaning that Hercules would remain in the vortex. There was a horrible wide-fanged leer on his face as he uttered these words.

Hercules turned away from Hades and without even a pause of thought, he dived off the edge of the jetty and into the fiery green waters below. Hades meanwhile approached the edge with a false air of forgetting something.

'Oh, y'know what slipped my mind.. you'll be _dead_ before you get to her..' His facial features suddenly switched back to an evil smirk and unable to resist one last jeer he yelled, '-that's not a problem is it?'

Hades chuckled amused to himself, hardly able to believe that this kid was _actually_ stupid enough to dive into the Vortex of Fire.

'Oy vey.. whatta yutz..' He uttered in soft amusement. He suddenly found himself needing to gloat to somebody about this… and there were two little flame-kissing schmucks hiding next door who would fit the bill perfectly.

'_Hey boys c'mere a minute.._' The god bellowed excitedly. '-_you'll never believe what this schmeil is doin' now!_'

* * *

The Eye of Fate was glowing brightly as the three eyeless Fates grinned to each other. After eighteen long years the climax was here… and it was their favourite part too.

Hercules was struggling though the waters, aging with every stroke of his arm.

'It is time sisters..' Lachesis sounded, moving her green hands away from the eye, letting it float eerily in the air by itself. Clotho instantly pulled the thread of life taught, measuring out the lifeline. Atropos grinned widely as she opened her shears and placed it along the thread at the exact moment of death. She then turned to the eye watching for the perfect moment… he was approaching his prize now… then just as Hercules reached Meg and stretched out his arm to grab her Atropos snapped down on her shears..

But instantly the thread glowed brightly..

The three Fates blinked at their scissors which lay shut against the long golden thread. Atropos tried again but the same thing happened. She wiggled the shears impatiently, trying to saw it in half before Hercules reached the surface.

'What's the matter with these scissors?' Lachesis cried out impatiently. Clotho held up the thread looking shocked.

'The thread won't cut!' She sounded in amazement. Lachesis then turned to her shorter sister and swiped her scissors.

'Maybe it's these old things..' She sounded petulantly.

'Give me that!' Atropos sounded irritably, snatching her scissors off of Lachesis and studying their bent and chipped blades. She then turned to the glowing string in her sisters hands. 'He's immortal..' She concluded grimly.

'Immortal!' Shrieked Lachesis. 'But he's not supposed to be immortal he was supposed to die first! He can't be immortal until he understands the importance of death..' She made a growling noise of frustration, the youngest Fate Lachesis was like a moody little kid whenever the Fates didn't get what they want.

'We know!' Clotho cried out impatiently before lowering the thread sighing irritably. The Fates had not meant for Hercules to become immortal this way… but then again, it brought up all manner of possiblities. Atropos grinned widely, her sharp mind already formulating a new fate..

'We can still carry on with our plan..' The tiny Fate declared causing her two sisters to swivel around in surprise.

'What? How?' Clotho blinked still staring at her sister's leer.

'He's immortal now, _remember_..' Lachesis sounded still pouting petulantly but Atropos' yellowy-toothed grin widened.

'But not for long..' She sounded deviously then swivelled on her heel and headed into the room next door before her sisters clicked at what she was getting at.

'You really don't think she's going to..' Clotho sounded worried pointing to the doorway. Lachesis merely raised a brow at her sister..

'Oh here we go again..' She sighed heavily and both Fates instantly chased after their sister.

'Atropos..'

'Atropos.. hold on..'

The Fate of the Inevitable ignored her sisters and carried onward, entering the room where the massive Tapestry of Fate was situated. When Lachesis and Clotho entered the room the eldest Fate was standing by the tapestry while holding her mangled shears. Her eyeless sockets almost looked as though they were darting between them both, her lipless mouth pursed irritably..

She then tossed her ruined scissors away and picked up the knitting needles by the Tapestry of Fate. Both her sisters blinked at each other before turning back to see what their sister Fate would do. Atropos immediately picked up one thread in one needle and another thread in the other needle she then began to click the knitting needles very briefly.

The second Atropos put down the knitting needles Hercules' lifeline, which was still in the grip of Clotho, stopped glowing. Hercules was mortal once again..

Both Lachesis and Clotho gawped at the thread in shock.

'What have you done?' Clotho instantly sounded shocked by her sister's actions.

'He was _clearly_ not ready to become a god..' Atropos replied simply. '-but next time… he will be.' She grinned a wide yellow-toothed grin at her sisters, both of them recognised the twisted little leer Atropos threw at them.

'It's time to introduce Hades to _her_, isn't it?' Lachesis suddenly smiled widely, realising what was coming..

'Not quite, he needs one last nudge towards the brink of despair..' Clotho sounded knowledgeably, returning the lifeline to it's home. '-besides, we will need to wait for things to settle down first.'

'And how long will _that_ take..' Lachesis rolled her eye sockets impatiently.

'Give it about three months..' Atropos replied airily. '-then they will be _ready_..'

* * *

…_present day…_

The Eye of Fate was shining brightly in the gloomy cavern which was home to the three Fates. Each sister was stood around the eye gazing with both pride and excitement. The image in the floating eyeball revealed a tiny baby with pearly white skin, a small nose that ended on a neat point and a bright set of golden eyes which blinked innocently up to his two unseen smiling parents.

'Oh, isn't he just adorable..' Lachesis cooed clasping her hands together and throwing a soppy look, a real achievement considering she had two eyeless sockets. She just loved new babies, so sweet, so pure and they came with a long healthy life-line to play with.

'He's here at last..' Atropos sounded in a musing voice, looking like a very proud auntie. '-_the fated one_..'

'The fated one..' Her two sisters repeated with a sigh, it seemed like only yesterday they'd had a powerful vision of Demeter's new-born baby girl. She would grow up to marry Hades and together they would bring into the world a child of great significance.. Of course the three women couldn't tell Demeter this. She may be the Goddess of Nature but the green-skinned deity was annoyingly protective of her children so they had decided to give her a heavy hint rather than a prophecy. They named her daughter.. _Persephone_.

'The fated one?' A booming male voice sounded in surprise making all three sisters smirk widely at each other, they already knew who had come to call. 'What's so special about that demon-child?'

'Zeus..' Clotho sounded with a light-edge of reprimand in her gravely voice. '-didn't your mother ever tell you it's rude to eavesdrop into other deities conversations?'

'Not that we weren't expecting it mind you..' Lachesis sounded in a rough tone, the Fates were not this god's biggest fans. They might have put him in a position of power but they got no thanks for it.

'That's _not_ the point..' Clotho responded sharply to her sister.

'Excuse me..' Zeus sounded icily as he cut into their bickering. '-I believe I asked you a question..'

'We know..' All three Fates answered as one.

'But patience is a virtue Zeus..' Atropos sounded raising one stubby finger. The tanned god groaned heavily in response to these words.

'Ladies _please.._' Zeus finally spoke, the slight exasperation in his tone was obvious to the three sisters, even without their gifts of foresight. '-I need to know why _this_ baby-' He jabbed a large orange finger towards the floating image of Thanatos. '-is so important to you..'

'Why?' Lachesis instantly spoke in a slightly mocking tone. 'Don't you know already?'

'And he calls himself omniscient..' Clotho rolled her eyeless sockets and folded her arms across her chest, sniffing the spider that had dropped down her nostril back inside.

'He's not omniscient, he just likes to think he is..' Atropos sounded matter-of-factly.

'This is hardly the topic of conversation now is it?' Zeus sounded frustrated, he hated having to speak to these women. They'd dodge round the subject just to wind him up and then infuriate him by answering with a nonsensical riddle then vanish off.

'Can you _just_ give me a straight answer for once..' He tried to keep his voice level but if these women were truly omniscient then they probably knew how he felt.

'Fine..' Atropos sounded sullenly. '-Hades is much more fun than you anyway.' Clotho instantly plucked the glowing Eye of Fate out of mid air, her fingers completely covering the image of Thanatos and the eye suddenly glowed an ominous blue. She released the eye which floated back up into mid-air between the Fates and Zeus. The three sisters linked arms together and their eyeless sockets fixed onto their precious eyeball.

'_In another time in another place… she was born of light bearing face_' Clotho begun and the image in the eye swirled to reveal a tiny baby girl with white skin, wide green eyes and a small lock of golden hair.

'_Of this child great fortune foretold… now she rules the Underworld_' Lachesis continued and the image changed to reveal an adult Persephone standing side by side with Hades. The Fate of the Present was instantly followed by Atropos who grinned diabolically at the tanned god.

'_A word of caution is all I'll state… this child of theirs is death incarnate.._' All three Fates cackled together, the Eye of Fate glowed brightly before it swirled into a dark vortex sucking all three sisters of destiny out, leaving their laugh to echo horribly.

Zeus blinked momentarily stunned by their sharp exit before he realised what they had said.

'Death incarnate..' The Lord of Olympus suddenly snapped to his senses, realising just how much damage Hades could do with a god like Thanatos under his control. 'Oh Gaia this is bad.. very bad..' He grumbled before vanishing back to Olympus in a burst of light.

_

* * *

_

Little Notes:

_Heya Peeps, welcome back for the fifth story concerning our favourite 'Deadly Double-Act' and if I was excited about DHL it's nothing compared to what I'm feeling about this story, I couldn't wait to get started! It's going to be darker and much more gloomy than any of the stories I've written before but fear not, the humour is still here._

_Ok, the Fates have only made a couple of appearances and a few mentions in my stories but now they will have a proper place in this storyline… I'm sorry about the massive film quoting at the start but as the story unravels it will make more sense. Right now it's just to show how long the Fates have been expecting Thanatos and how they've plotted for his arrival.._

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy X_


	2. The Fine Tuning of Parenthood

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Two:****The Fine-Tuning of Parenthood**

In gloomy skull-shaped House of Hades a burst of angry upset flames billowed but for once it wasn't Hades blazing. Six month old Thanatos wailed banging his fists against his grey stone highchair before angrily swiping his bowl of mashed worms off the black table-top.

'What's his problem?' Pain sounded with a slight scowl of irritation as both imps looked up from their Soul Count. The fiery inferno that was Thanatos bawled even louder as he scorched his skin off. Both imps winced at this gruesome sight, no matter how many times they saw it they couldn't get used to it.. it creeped them out. Persephone only sighed, snapping her fingers making the mess on the floor disappear in a small swirl of orbs.

'He's teething..' She explained gestured to her blazing skeletal son's jaws. Amongst the fire one long pointed fang was visible along with a few other growing nubs that hadn't pierced the gums yet. Both imps grimaced in a mixture of disgust and pity for their little boss.

Suddenly a second tower of flames appeared in the throne room as Hades smouldered into the room smelling strongly of sulphur and sweat.

'What in blue-blazes is goin' on?' He sounded both confused and slightly ticked off. 'I can hear the kid in Tartarus..' Persephone wrinkled her nose at the disgusting smell of her husband, she truly hated it when he went to deal with business downstairs.

'Thanny just cut his first tooth..' Persephone replied trying to ignore the fact that the stench of Hades made her want to heave. The little godling was still bawling in an inferno of anguish, this time knocking his milk bottle off the table-top. Persephone gave a slight groan of exasperation but clicked her fingers again causing the bottle and it's mess to vanish.

'Aww, is that what he's fussin' about?' The fiery god sounded then turned to his infant son who was too busy crying to notice that his daddy had reappeared from Tartarus. Hades flashed little Thanatos a wide-fanged smirk before bending down to his level.

'Alright, stand back people..' The fiery god sounded and not needing any encouragement Persephone stepped back from her husband. Pain and Panic quickly scooped up there paperwork and darted behind the throne. '-I know how to settle his flames.' A tumbler spiced nectar appeared out of a curl of smoke. Clutching his long bluish-grey fingers around it Hades dipped the index finger of his other hand into the glass then pushed it into his son's mouth. Thanatos smouldered out in a curl of smoke in shock, a moment later the bald little god blinked confused by the strange taste in his mouth as Hades rubbed the nectar on his son's gum.

'Feelin' better short-flames?' The fiery god smirked retracting his finger then producing a little flicker of gold flames on his fingertips and relighting Thanatos' bald head. The infant golden-flamed god only sat silent still trying to work out what his daddy had put in his mouth to make the pain go away.

'Heh, I'll take that as a yes..' Hades smirked and took a swig out of the tumbler in his hand.

'How did you know that would work?' Persephone sounded in amazement, her green eyes travelled from her now quiet son to her smugly smirking husband.

'Erebus used to use honey on me whenever I'd cut a new fang..' Hades responded cheerfully. '-it's a little sweeter than nectar but the principle is the same.' He downed the rest of his spiced nectar and the glass disappeared in a puff of smoke. The fiery god then lifted his infant son out of the stone highchair. Unlike his mother little Thanatos didn't seem to care about the smell of his father he was just happy to see him, the little godling made an indistinguishable joyful babbling noise before grabbing his daddy's large silver skull chiton pin.

'Heh, your so fatherly now..' Persephone responded clutching her fingers together in admiration. '-it really turns me on..' Her green eyes narrowed playfully to her other half and one of Hades' eyebrows shot up at her word choice. Although Thanatos was sleeping through the nights now the fiery god had been unsure about how to approach his wife on the subject of marital rights, Hades didn't want to pressure Persephone back into resuming these 'nocturnal activities' until she was ready but he couldn't deny that he had needs. Shifting Thanatos comfortably into the crook of one arm the fiery god then slipped up to his wife with heavy-lidded eyes and a serpentine hungry leer.

'So..' His husky voice purred enticingly. '-feelin' frisky are we?' Unfortunately the moment that Hades approached his wife the overpowering stench of Tartarus made Persephone's dainty white fingers automatically pinch her button nose as the nausea returned.

'Eurgh…' She sounded pulling away from her husband in disgust. '-_no_… you smell like brimstone and fear..' She gagged slightly causing Hades to roll his eyes with a slight chuckle to cover up his long pent-up frustration.

'Heh, heh… yeh, sorry Sephy but I wanna get these Tartarus Inspections outta the way so I got more time to spend with the kid while your upstairs.'

'It's ok sweetie..' Persephone sighed heavily. '-I gotta get back to my surface duties anyway, I just came to check up on Thanatos.' She would have given her husband a kiss but the white-skinned goddess really couldn't stand the sickly smell of Hades right now.

'Uh, sure thing babe..' The fiery god sounded feeling a little disappointed as Persephone blew both her flame-haired boys a kiss then orbed out with a little wave. Hades sighed heavily, still clutching Thanatos to his chest. The baby godling blinked at his father slightly confused before a miniscule boyish smile appeared on his lips and he stretched a little hand out and touched his daddy's long chin. The fiery god smirked slightly in response.

'Well short-flames..' Hades sighed raising his free hand and letting his son grip one of his long bluish-grey fingers. '-I guess it's just you and me..'

* * *

As the weeks moved forwards both rulers of the Underworld found very little time to spend with each other. With spring underway Persephone would rise first and get Thanatos dressed and fed before orbing off for work, leaving her son in the care of her husband for most of the day. When she returned home in the evening Hades would sift through his paperwork while his wife got the little godling fed, bathed and settled to sleep. By the time Hades was finished for the night Persephone was already in bed asleep. Any free time that the two gods had was usually spent in the company of their infant son, so the only intimacy was restricted to kisses, cuddles and other chaste touching.

Even though Hades seemed happy with these small moments of closeness Persephone knew her husband was craving more, she could feel his desire burning every time he got close to her as if it were an invisible aura around him. It made her a little flushed to know he still thought of her in that way. She had heard from both her mother and Aphrodite about how kids took the passion right out of a relationship but theirs was still burning strong, it was just re-establishing it that was the problem. Neither of them seemed to know how.

Despite his parents problems Thanatos seemed to go from strength to strength, surprising everybody by hitting his first milestones a little earlier than expected. By the age of nine months the little godling was already stood up with the assistance of the bars on his black crib babbling some string of no-meaning 'buzz words' his father was usually heard uttering.

'Heya little god, whatcha doin'?' Persephone sounded in a high-pitched voice as she bent down smiling sweetly at her infant son. Thanatos beamed widely at his mother still holding onto the rounded black metal spikes of his crib and bouncing on the spot, the little golden flames on his tiny head flickering in sync with his movements.

'Ba-da.. ba-da.. ba-da.. ba-da-bing.' The infant godling sounded cheerfully along with his bouncing.

Persephone giggled affectionately as Hermes bent over the edge of the crib, the Messenger God had been visiting Thanatos regularly since the day he was born and he'd quickly grown attached to his best friend's son. The Messenger God had even started guiding spirits down to the big basement as a way of keeping Hades happy with him visiting. It was a small price to pay for visiting his favourite little pyrogod.

'Y'know Than gets more and more like the H-Man every time I visit..' Hermes chuckled amused by the infant godling's antics.

'Boom..' Thanatos sounded matter-of-factly as he let go of the black bars and flopped down into a sitting position while beaming up at his mother and her best friend flashing his six needle-sharp fangs proudly.

'Heh, must be all the time they spend together..' Persephone sounded scooping up her son happily. '-his daddy must be rubbing off on him.' She then sighed slightly which wasn't missed by Hermes.

'Somethin' the matter Seph?' He asked looking concerned.

'It's nothing Hermes..' Persephone responded hoisting her son into a more comfortable position. '-it's just me and Hades well..' She tailed off trying to think of how best to describe what they were going through. '-we're just not as _close _as we used to be, you know what I mean..'

'Ah, trouble jump-stratin' the ol' flame huh?' Hermes sounded nodding with completely understanding.

'It's not jump-starting it..' Persephone responded, quick to correct him. '-it's finding the time to… it's just so busy for us this time of year, I've got my springtime duties on the surface and Hades has to catch up with the paperwork-' Thanatos interrupted his mother with an urgent wail frantically waving his hand at something behind them, tears threatening to well up in his round gold eyes.

'What..' Persephone turned her head looking to see what it was her son wanted before spotting the skeleton teddy still in his crib. 'Oh, Mr Skelton.. Hermes would you..' She sounded sweetly to her best friend who beamed widely.

'Sure no problem babe..' The blue god then swooped over and picked up the stuffed skeleton and passed it to Thanatos who snatched it off him clutching it close with a happy smirk. '-so anyway, what were you saying..' He turned back to Persephone as the two of them walked out of Thanatos' bedroom and towards the stairs leading to the throne room.

* * *

'Well it's not like you guys are stuck for babysitters..' Hermes sounded perching on one armchair with a steaming cup of decaf as Persephone perched on the other side of the large stone throne. '-there's plenty of deities that would happily take Than… your mom, Hestia, Aphrodite, Bacchus, Psyche and if your not comfortable with Than leaving the Underworld you always got Cyane or me.' He smiled brightly.

'I know, I know..' Persephone sighed heavily and took a sip of her coffee watching her nine-month old son play with Mr Skelton on the stone floor of the throne room. '-that's not the issue though..' She paused thinking before adding. '-I need to be in the right frame of mind when I talk to Hades.'

'Oh, well maybe this would help..' Hermes sounded cheerfully then the blue skinny god whipped a leaflet out of his chiton and passed it to Persephone.

'What's this..' The white-skinned goddess blinked taking the leaflet and unfolding it.

'It's a brochure about this new spa that's opening up by the Spring of Canathus, Hera wanted me to give it to you.' Persephone's green eyes flickered to Hermes before returning to the leaflet and gazing at the facilities.

'Ooh, looks fancy..' The Queen of the Underworld raised her brows intrigued. '-they must have really cleaned up the spring.' Persephone remembered how Canathus had looked before these brochures, wild and dangerous.

'Yeh, the whole place has been spruced up and made-over, ya wouldn't think that this spring had once been labelled uninhabitable..'

'Well it looks lovely..' Persephone sounded in agreement. '-but, uh… why did Hera want me to see it?' She blinked then turned back to Hermes.

'I think she's hoping that if ya like it you might wanna go check it out with her, she's got two invites to it's grand-opening and health-spas aren't really Zeus' thing..' He snickered amused at the thought of the Ruler of the Cosmos getting a facial.

'But why me?' Persephone asked confused. 'Isn't this the kind of thing she does with Amphitrite?'

'Usually yeh, but Amphitrite's baby is due some point soon so she can't go… plus I think she just wants to spend some time with you since your also her sister-in-law.'

'I dunno..' Persephone dithered unable to make her mind up. '-I'd need to speak to Hades first.'

'Speak to me about what?' The familiar tones of the Lord of the Underworld sounded as the fiery god materialized into the room. 'Oh. Heya Twinkle Toes..' He sounded in brief acknowledgement of Hermes who was perched opposite his wife. '-many souls follow ya down?'

'Eh, only a couple but the imps are taking care of it..' Hermes sounded vaguely before adding, 'So what is with the seating arrangements here? How come you didn't get Seph a throne of her own?' Hades groaned in response to this question wondering why Hermes was only bringing it up now.

'Hey, ya got an issue with seating Hermes, take it up with the wife ok?' Hades gestured to Persephone as he lent against the back of the throne. 'I have offered her a throne, how many times now..' He asked his wife absent-mindedly before shaking his head amused. '-and her answer is always the same..'

'Well I'm sorry..' Persephone giggled in amusement. '-we're never in here doing business at the same time so having two thrones is pointless.'

'There's always a first time for everything..' Hermes sounded instantly, looking at her in amazement.

'Boom. That is exactly what I said-' Hades responded grinning widely. '-but Little Miss Flowers and Orbs here won't have it, apparently it'll mess up the feng-shi of the room..' The fiery god rolled his eyes and added under his breath. '-whatever that is.'

'Feng-shi?' Hermes blinked confused at these words looking as lost as Hades on this concept.

'You've never heard of it?' Persephone blinked in incredulity but quickly got over it, pulling out an oriental-looking scroll from a swirl of orbs. 'It's all the range with the Chinese pantheon right now, Aphrodite introduced it to me..' She held the scroll to Hermes who took it then blinked and unfurled the scroll looking confused by the entire written concept of it.

'Heh, it's like figuring out the Sphinx' riddles..' Hades snickered causing Hermes to snort with amusement. Persephone pouted irritably as both gods chortled before making the scroll disappear in a swirl of orbs.

'Aww, was only kiddin' babe..' Hades sounded catching the nasty look on Persephone's face and nudging her playfully causing her pout to twist into a smirk. '-so what was this thing ya wanted to ask me?' The fiery god's eyes then swivelled around to watch Thanatos who was still playing and crawling along the floor with Mr Skelton, not paying his parents or Hermes any attention.

'Oh, Hera wants me to go with her to the opening of some new spa by the Spring of Canathus..'

'_Canathus_..' Hades sounded in shock almost giving himself whiplash with the speed his head snapped back around to his wife. 'Some yutz actually turned that swamp into a heath retreat?' His golden eyes blinked in surprise.

'Sure..' Persephone smiled sweetly. '-see for yourself.' She held out the brochure and her fiery husband took it and began to look over it.

'Ooh, impressive… hmm.. 'natural spring prompts youth and-' blah, blah, blah..' Hades' large pupils moved swiftly through the blurb and he quickly sifted through the rest of it. '-very nice… so you goin' or what?' He sounded amiably as he handed the brochure back.

'I don't know..' Persephone sounded glancing over the resort brochure again. '-it does look kind of expensive.'

'Eh, hello… God of Wealth here tellin' you to go..' Hades sounded lightly rapping his wife on the head with a wide smirk.

'But-' Persephone started however Hades forestalled her by summoning a credit card in his long bluish-grey fingers and holding it out to her.

'Hey the audit's done, here's your card go have a nice time..' The fiery god sounded cheerfully making Hermes blink in shock and amazement. Not even Zeus trusted Hera with a credit card.

'Well if your sure..' Persephone smiled taking the credit card from her husband.

'Positive..' The fiery god sounded in a low voice as his wife stood up on the seat of the throne and kissed his lips. '-but remember, you owe me..' He smirked widely as they parted.

'See you later..' She giggled in response before orbing out.

'Wow, I can't believe you just gave her a credit card..' Hermes sounded in disbelief the moment the swirl of orbs had gone, floating upwards as Hades picked up his infant son then slumped in the now vacant throne.

'Hey, re-lax will ya..' The fiery god summoned a cigar out of a curl of smoke and placed it between his teeth. '-it's got a six hundred drachma limit, I'm not stupid..' He then lifted his son, who was facing away from him, and lit the smoke using his Thanatos' flaming hair.

* * *

Little Notes:

_Heya Peeps, as promised I have uploaded two pictures of Thanatos when he is ten years old up onto my deviantART profile so please feel free to check it out and any feedback left is much appreciated (the link can be found in my profile page)._

_Just a couple of notes, the first is that I didn't like the way the Spring of Canathus was done out in the series of Hercules it was way too creepy and remote to be a sacred place of Hera, which is what it is in myth, so the idea of having it turned into a spa place really felt right._

_Also, from what I've come across couples who have issues getting intimate with each other after the birth of a baby is quite common and since this is Hades and Seph's first baby I thought it would be a good issue to cover, plus I've not seen it brought up before._

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy X_


	3. How to Seduce a God

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Three:****How to Seduce a God**

'Oh, this is just what I needed..' Hera sounded as she relaxed in the steaming bath, smearing some of herbal clay on her face and placing to cucumbers on her eyes. '-it's nice to get a bit of time away from the husbands isn't it?' She sighed amiably towards Persephone who was fixing her long blonde hair into a high-bun and adjusting her two-piece black swim toga. The white-skinned goddess made an agreeable noise before she too slipped into the steaming waters of the salty bath, sighing blissfully as she stretched out, the bubbling waters helping her to relax.

'It was Hades' idea that I come..' Persephone said in laid-back matter, leaning her head against the side of the bath. '-although I'm still not sure why you chose me to accompany you rather than one of the other goddesses.' Hera raised a brow and peeled the cucumbers off of her blue eyes so she could look at her fellow goddess.

'I invited you because it occurred to me that we're sisters-in-law and I've barely spent any time with you since you married Hades..' She smiled leaning over and picking up the small tub of medicated mud and began to smear it on Persephone's face. '-besides it's part of my cosmic duty to always offer an olive branch to my fellow queens.' Hera finished masking Persephone's face smiling while washing her hands off in the salty water.

'Oh, well thank you..' Persephone smiled back. '-I haven't had a chance to do anything like this since Thanatos was born.' She sighed slightly, thinking about how much things had changed since they'd had a baby. The look on her face wasn't missed by Hera and the lilac-skinned goddess frowned concerned.

'And how are things between you and Hades?' She asked while placing a hand on Persephone's. The white-skinned goddess looked at her for a moment as if debating whether or not to say but decided to relent.

'I don't know…' She closed her eyes feeling the threat of tears. '-it's hard just finding two minutes to be alone together-' Persephone opened her green eyes and turned back to Hera. '-and even when we do get a moment we just can't get in the mood, it's like having a baby changed everything..' The lilac-skinned goddess nodded sympathetically.

'Oh Persephone… your not the first couple to have intimacy issues after the baby is born, y'know it took me and Zeus a while to adjust when Hephaestus was born..' Persephone chose not to point out that the only reason it took them so long to 'adjust' was because Zeus had accidentally dropped Hephaestus off of Olympus, which resulted in the God of the Forge loosing his lower left leg.

'-it just takes some time that's all..' Hera continued unaware of Persephone's thoughts. '-but you have to spend some 'alone' time with your husband too so you get reacquainted with each other.'

'Well..' Persephone sighed lightly, her face mask starting to dry and tighten on her skin. '-I was thinking of trying to speak to him later tonight about that.' She sounded grateful that her mud pack was hiding her blush.

'_Ooh_, then let's get you a divine make-over so he can't resist you..' Hera sounded with girlish excitement instantly pulling the scroll of treatments to her and scanning the options.

'You really think that's necessary?' Persephone blinked at her eager face in wonder.

'Believe me Persephone, if you want to seduce your husband nothing works better than a full-body-makeover..' Hera raised her brow knowingly before returning to the options. '-ok, I think we'll start with an aura cleansing then a perfumed body wrap and how do you feel about a virginity renewal treatment?' The Queen of the Gods looked up questioningly from the scroll in front of her.

'Virginity renewal treatment?' Persephone sounded intrigued pulling the scroll away from Hera and looking at the description of the therapy with mild interest.

'It's a special treatment offered to goddesses only, it restores virginity and rejuvenates the body..' Hera chuckled amused. '-I've had it done after the birth of every one of my kids and let me tell you-' She leaned into Persephone lowering her voice a little.'-it really puts a fire under Zeus' chiton..' The young Queen of the Underworld tried very hard not to shudder at the mental picture offered to her… but the treatment sounded interesting.

'You really think this treatment will get my husband's flames blazing?' Persephone looked up from the scroll as Hera washed off her mud mask revealing her fresh-face and smiling.

'Dear..' The lilac-skinned goddess sounded, her eyes narrowed mischievously as Persephone removed her mask. '-if your husband is as ill-mannered inside the bedroom as he is outside it you'll be lucky if he doesn't pre-combust.' Both goddesses giggled naughtily at this.

'Y'know what, the Tartarus with it..' Persephone drawled narrowing her eyes. '-I'm game if you are..' She flashed Hera a sweet and girly smile making the Queen of the Gods giggle again.

'Oh why not? All this chat has got me frisky anyway..' She sounded amiably, clicking her dainty lilac fingers and summoning a clipboard and signing them both up for the treatment. Persephone summoned them two flutes of nectar out of swirls of orbs and the two goddesses chinked glasses keenly.

* * *

In the Underworld Hades had found himself with an unusual moment of peace, Hermes had taken Thanatos off his flames and the imps… in truth, the fiery god didn't know where those two little pointy-eared sprites had got to and quite frankly he didn't care as long as they weren't bothering him anytime soon.

The god sighed pleasantly as he stretched out in his favourite black-bony LazyGod lounging chair, he'd been flicking idly through this months torture catalogue for any inspiration but his heart just wasn't in it so he gave up, letting the magazine slide off his lap into a heap on the floor. Hades sighed heavily resting his chin in his hand glumly. He'd only been on his own for a few moments and he was already bored stiff.

It was times like these that reminded Hades of the centuries of loneliness he'd gone through before Persephone had entered his life. When he looked back on it now it was almost as if he were looking at a different deity, the fiery god had changed so much in the passed eight years. It was hard to imagine himself without his wife, he'd grown so accustomed to having Persephone in his life that he really didn't know how he'd coped in the Underworld without her.

The fiery god then straightened, giving himself a mental kick for being a pathetic yutz. He'd managed to pass the time just fine without her before. He'd plotted schemes, he'd tortured the imps and on rare occasions he'd just slouched in front of Tartarus Vision with a bowl of worms.

Minion torture was an instant no-no, he didn't even know where Pain and Panic were and the idea of hearing their whiny voices grated him like a knife… he could also rule out plotting a scheme, right now that sounded like too much work. First he'd need to find somebody to plot against, Hercules was an easy target but unfortunately the kid was almost as boring as Trivia these days, then he'd need to think up a scheme, which he couldn't be bothered to do, and then he'd have to follow it through.. Hades groaned as he was starting to get a headache from this… to Tartarus with it, he'd just see what was on T.V.

The fiery god shifted a little in his seat as he fished out the Tartarus Vision remote then clicked the top corner button causing the large screen to swirl into view. Hades' eyes narrowed as he stretched out sluggishly and flicked another button, instantly an image swirled onto the screen.

'Huh.' The fiery god sounded indifferently. 'So that's what happened to the imps..' The image on the screen showed baby Thanatos chortling with delight, gripping an imp in each fist and smashing their skulls one at a time off the seven-key xylophone in front of him… the little godling did seem to be getting a pretty good tune out of them.

'Ooh..'

'Eeh..'

'Ahh..'

'Ow..'

'Alright shorty, diggin' the tune but maybe we could swap the imps for these?' Hermes sounded kindly, coming into the view of the T.V. holding out the xylophone's beaters.

'Yeh, good luck with that one ya flyin'-putz..' Hades muttered idly as little Thanatos flared irritably at Hermes. The next second a small torrent of fire crossed the screen and the blue Messenger God reappeared from the blast with a soot-covered face.

'Then again, maybe not..' Hermes uttered grinning pathetically as the beaters in his hand turned to ash. Hades chuckled lightly and flicked the button as Thanatos went back to bashing the imps off

the xylophone.

'Heh, kid's a natural..' The fiery god snickered before the image of a griffin sat behind a desk in a big studio quickly wiped the smirk off his face.

'Do you have a troublesome tyke at home? Well if you do stay tuned for our next guest who can help you out-' Hades smashed the keys of the remote flaring irritably.

'_Gah! I despise Merv Griffin!_' He snarled irately before the image on the screen switched off and the fiery god flung the remote moodily down on top of his discarded magazine.

Hades then groaned fed up and straightened in his seat. This was the first piece of proper 'me' time he'd had since his son had been born but he had no idea what to do with himself. The fiery god placed his head in one hand and drummed the long fingers of his other hand off the bony black armrest of the chair, sticking out his bottom lip as he tried to figure out what he could do..

But in his mind there was only one thing Hades wanted… unfortunately she was on the surface with Hera.

The fiery Lord of the Underworld was no idiot, he had always known that they would be sacrificing certain aspects of their relationship when they decided to have a child.. but now that Thanatos was sleeping regularly and the 'summer slump' was officially in effect it seemed like the perfect time to start reconnecting with the missus. Hades hoped that Persephone might be in the right frame of mind to talk after a relaxing day out.

'Yo Hades..' A male voice sounded causing the fiery god's heavy-lidded eyes to blink, drawing the Lord of the Underworld away from his thoughts. His enormous pupils rolled around to find Hermes fluttering beside him. '-I gotta go bro, the big guy is summonin' me and it sounds pretty important..'

'Heh, Mr High and Mighty crackin' the whip again, huh?' A small smirk curved Hades' lips.

'Y'know it H-Man..' Hermes replied airily. '-ok, the kid's takin' a siesta and the imps are back on doom service-'

'Fine, fine, fine..' The fiery god interrupted waving his hand impatiently. '-ya better get a mosey on before Bolt Boy whips out the thunderbolts.'

'Don't worry, I'm gone babe..' The tiny blue god sounded dashing out of the House of Hades in a blue blur as Hades' smirk widened as he watched him leave.

'Heh, I've said it before but that guy is workin' for the _wrong_ god..' The fiery god shook his flaming head with amusement before returning to his musings.

* * *

It was early evening when Persephone stepped off the long black gondola onto the docks of the Styx causing both imps blinked. It wasn't the fact that the young Queen of the Underworld had chosen to return home this way, Persephone often travelled home across the Styx as she found the serenity of the boat ride helped her collect her thoughts.. but after her spa treatments their queen's star-white aura was radiating a new-found sense of innocence, or maybe Pain and Panic had just been bashed one too many times over the key's of the xylophone.

'Wow..' Pain sounded unable to take his eyes off of Persephone who arched an eyebrow at his awe. '-you look lovely your attractiveness-'

'You moron..' Panic smacked him with the clipboard in his hand. '-Miss Persephone always looks lovely.'

'Ouch. I _know_..' Pain responded petulantly, rounding on his skinny green partner. '-I just meant that after her spa treatments she looks extra lovely ..'

Persephone rolled her deep green eyes wearily, whether it was with the Sirens or each other these two imps always seemed to be bickering about something.

'Well why didn't you just say that..' Panic sounded.

'I was going to before you butted in-' The pink imp snatched the clipboard off of him moodily.

'Not that this argument isn't _fascinating_ or anything-' The Queen of the Underworld sounded with a sigh interrupting the squabbling causing both imps to glance back at her nervously. '-but where is my husband?' Persephone smiled sweetly.

'Err…' The pink imp drawled trying very hard to think about it.

'I think he's still with Thanatos..' Panic spoke up and Pain instantly nodded like one of those irritating chariot ornaments.

'Oh.' Persephone blinked surprised that she hadn't thought of that, the goddess then shook her blonde head before turning away. 'Right. Carry on..' She brushed passed them airily and heading up the steps to the throne room.

Both Pain and Panic blinked at each other.

'Does she seem a little distracted to you?' The skinny green imp asked his partner. Pain glanced at the white-skinned goddess as she disappeared around the spiral in the stairway.

'Meh, no more than usual..' He responded dismissively, returning his attention to the clipboard in front of him.

A single solitary soul dropped through the ceiling of the empty throne room, for a brief moment it drifted before swooping through the doorway towards the Vortex of Fire causing the soul counter to flicker forward with small ping. Persephone merely glanced around as the digits on the counter clicked forwards before turning her attention to a couple of applicants for rebirth that had been left out by her Sirens before they had gone off to do a little moonlighting for Poseidon, ship-sinking was big business for the Underworld and nobody did it better than her three girls.

Persephone sighed at the re-embodiment forms before signing the bottom and orbing them off to her own in-tray, she'd reincarnate the souls later. The young Queen of the Underworld then vanished in a swirl of orbs in search of her husband… it shouldn't be too hard, it was Thanatos' bedtime.

* * *

Hades sighed with relief as he gently shut the door to Thanatos' bedroom, apart from some moody flames and a short struggle while the fiery god had attempted to dress his son in his navy-blue and white skull patterned night-chiton but the little brat soon scorched himself to sleep. As the fiery god turned away from his son's door he flinched startled by the unexpected cluster of bright white orbs that swirled in front of him, the next second they merged together and Persephone emerged from them blinking innocently.

'Hey..' She said in a soft greeting before her husband seized her by the shoulders causing the goddess to look both worried and bewildered.

'Geez Louise Sephy..' Hades responded in a gasping whisper so not to wake up their nine month old son. '-don't do that to me..'

'Uh.. Ok.' Persephone drawled as her husband let go of her looking more than thankful. She raised an eyebrow curiously to the fiery god. 'Are you ok sweetie, you seem a little jumpy.'

'Huh, oh I'm peachy babe, ya just surprised me orbin' in like that..' Hades responded casually running his fingers through his flickering flames.

'Heh, sorry..' Persephone flushed a pale peachy colour. 'So is he..?' She trailed off gesturing to their son's bedroom.

'Sleepin'..' Hades responded with a smirk. '-little tyke burnt himself out.'

'Aww, again?' Persephone sounded with an upward inflection of affection as her nose wrinkled adorably.

'Heh, heh, _yehhh_…' Hades drawled, his eyes narrowed as he glanced back at Thanatos' bedroom door. '-makes puttin' his jammies on a whole Tartarus easier if ya know whatta mean.' The fiery god winked at the end of this quip and both deities laughed lightly before an awkward pause fell over them.

There hadn't been an awkward pause between them for a long time and the air was thick with the same kind of static chemical attraction that they had shared from the moment they had started dating. As Persephone blushed and coyly dropped her deep green eyes Hades coughed uncomfortably into his fist before pulling on the neck of his chiton feeling a little flushed, both clearly shared a desire to rekindle the old flame.

'Well I-' The fiery god started.

'Hades..' Persephone sounded at the same moment cursing inwardly as she felt her cheeks burn again. Her fiery husband only smirked a little finding this revived sense of innocence endearing.

'Seph..' Her name rolled off his tongue in one deep elongated purr giving the goddess a sense of tingles that she only received from him.

'No, you go first..' Persephone sounded feeling butterflies in her stomach.

'I was hoping we could talk-' Hades started in a low voice but was cut off as his wife flung her arms around his neck and kissed him so deeply the fiery god quickly lost all coherent thought, his mind becoming a muddled mass of confusion the passion. A few seconds of this indistinct blissful embrace and Hades pulled back from his wife, unaware that this brief smooch had already enticed his blue flames to ripple across his shoulders.

Persephone raised a brow at his slightly blown away expression.

'Hey, you always said talk was cheep..' She uttered carelessly before hooking her fingers around the neck of his chiton and pulling him to her. Hades only smirked in response before locking lips with his wife again.

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Heya Peeps, sorry if this chapter seems to be a little late (I dunno if it really is late, it just feels like it's a little late to me) I've been feeling a little strange this week, dunno why, I just feel weird. :S_

_Anyway, I've based the treatments at the Spa of Canathus on various things goddesses did, Aphrodite would anoint herself in fragrant oils, Hera would renew her virginity and the salt baths were merely there because they were popular in Roman culture._

_I hope everybody likes a little imp torture as there will be plenty more (although I'm trying to think up original tortures and not just flaming them because it does get a little repetitive and boring after a while)… also I know it seems a little daft to continually mention the time of year in reference to the story but I feel it's important to keep a sense of reality to my stories which I feel a few fics loose in later chaps, this is also a reason I chose to keep Persephone a permanent resident of the Underworld so I can't shoot myself in the foot by having her somewhere where she isn't meant to be (it's not a nod towards anybody else's story it's just me and my notoriously fussy-borderline-obsession to the little details).._

_Please review and stay tuned…_

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy X _


	4. Fiery Boys will be Fiery Boys

Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…

This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first…

Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you will get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic..

And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…

…enjoy x

* * *

_Heya Peeps, I've decided that since you guys reviewed, it's only fair if I respond:_

_**DakraixCresselia: Yes, I think Thanny playing with the imps is adorable too and there will be more sweet bits with them.**_

_**DisneyPrincess: Ha-ha I'd love to go to the spa too and I know what you mean.. poor Pain and Panic, they never seem to catch a break do they?**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: Don't worry, I think with the amount of times Hades blows up in their faces they knew what to expect with little Thanny.. And I don't want to give away too much story on the sibling front just yet but I will say no, he probably won't be an only child for long.**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Four: ****Fiery Boys will be Fiery Boys**

Persephone adjusted the two miniature silver skull pins on the front of her son's little black dungaree chiton as her now ten month old son chewed on his skeletal teddy's arm.

'_Thanny_..' Persephone sounded in a low voice as her lips curled in amusement. '-don't do that to Mr Skelton.' She took hold of the soft skeleton and held him up, positioning his soft arms into a prayer position.

'Oh, _please_ don't chew my arms off boss, I _need_ them..' Persephone said in a whiney little voice which sounded like a bad impersonation of Panic. Little Thanatos chortled amused flashing an almost full mouth of needle-sharp baby fangs. The white-skinned goddess rolled her green eyes and straightened.

'Yeh, yeh… mom's a real comedian..' Persephone drawled lazily offering Mr Skelton to her son who instantly hugged the skeletal teddy as the goddess lifted him up into her arms. '-now c'mon mister, we gotta get going to grandma's..' She sounded balancing Thanatos on her hip supporting him with one arm. The infant godling instantly began sucking on his left skull pin.

'I can't believe your ditchin' me..' A low voice sounded from the doorway causing both Persephone and baby Thanatos to look around seeing Hades lent in the doorway. The infant godling instantly beamed at his father and the skull pin popped out of his mouth.

'We're not ditching you sweetie, you should come, it's not like you have anything better to do..' The goddess replied airily.

'Oh sure..' Hades drawled sarcastically. '-an afternoon with your mother, sounds like my Elysium.' Persephone giggled girlishly in amusement before responding.

'Stop it, my mother isn't that bad-'

'Da-da..' Thanatos interrupted and both Hades and Persephone both gawped in shock at their little boy, for a moment they were speechless… could this be his first word?

'Da-da-bing, huh..' The godling smirked at his parents expressions causing Hades to sigh exasperated at this ridiculous string of sounds his child had just spouted.

'Way to go kid..' The fiery god sighed, ruffling the golden flames on his son's head. '-ya got our hopes up then dashed them expertly and your not even outta your diapers yet..' He rolled his eyes in false irritation.

'Oh, quit being mellow-dramatic..' Persephone punched her husband in the arm playfully.'-he'll talk when he's ready to, not before.. be_sides.._' The young goddess sing-songed softly. '-the sooner he talks, the sooner he talks back-' She winked at her husband. '-so we should enjoy this while it lasts..' Hades blinked at his wife's words before his eyes narrowed.

'Heh, good point baby..' The fiery god smirked wrapping an arm around her and pecking her lips before sighing heavily. 'Do ya have to go?'

'You know we do, I promised my mother I'd take Than up to visit her..' Persephone sounded picking up the black shoulder bag with Thanatos' things. '-she hasn't seen him since spring started-'

'Blow her off..' Hades cut his wife short and Persephone looked horrified by this suggestion.

'_No!_' She squealed out in shock. 'She's been looking forward to seeing her grandson for weeks and anyway, Thanny hasn't been to the surface yet so this will be good for him.' She sniffed loftily.

'_Fine_..' The fiery god sighed petulantly causing Persephone to smile at his pout.

'Come with us..' She sounded in a soft sultry voice while little Thanatos was sucking on his chiton pin again.

'Eh, I dunno..' The fiery god rubbed the back of his neck looking in two-minds.

'Oh _c'mon_..' Persephone fluttered her eyelashes enticingly. '-we need some family time and if you come with us I make it worth your _while.._' She sing-songed softly while running her fingers of her free hand over his chest.

'Oh yeh?' Hades cocked an eyebrow intrigued by this statement, his curiosity sparked. 'How?'

'Hmm..' Persephone narrowed her eyes and adjusted her hold on her son. '-come with me and you'll see..' She continued in the same soft sultry tone which always stirred up her husband's flames. The god's eyes narrowed as his blue fiery hair flickered wildly at her words.

'Alright, fine..' His smirk widened flashing her the upper-row of white fangs. '-since you've ignited my interest..' He purred causing a wide girly smile to cross his wife's lips.

* * *

'_Oh_..' Demeter squealed out in delight, stretching out her plump green arms as the subterranean family appeared out of a curl of smoke. '-_there_ he is!' The Goddess of Nature instantly scooped up her grandson with a happy gasp. Thanatos instantly dropped Mr Skelton at the sight of his grandmother, for a moment he was unreadable before,

'Boom..' He declared happily and waving his arms before gripping one of his grandmother's daisy chiton pins. Demeter blinked surprised by his statement before flashing his parents a curious glance.

'He doesn't attach any meaning to it..' Hades smirked as he'd been watching amused with one arm casually draped around his wife's waist.

'I see..' The green-skinned goddess sounded cradling her grandson into her as Thanatos' attention was soon caught by how strangely bright and airy his grandmother's kitchen was. Demeter had closed the pale green curtains to blot out most of the sun as the only sunlight Thanatos had seen was the artificial light of the Elysian Fields.. and he'd only been there twice in his short existence. However, even with this blot the kitchen was still better lit than his Underworld home and the bright colours of the room fascinated him.

'So how long has little Thanny been saying this string of..' Demeter tailed off trying to find the right word for this.

'-nonsense..' Persephone supplied before adding, '-about a month, but we think he might talk soon-'

'Hope babe..' Hades interjected. '-we _hope_ the brat might talk soon..'

'Oh whatever..' The white-skinned goddess rolled her green eyes before returning her attention to her mother. '-the imps and Sirens showing him picture cards that Hermes brought down so Thanatos can recognise sounds.' Persephone slouched into a long-backed chair and ruffled through the black shoulder bag that now sat on the large farmhouse table in front of her. She then pulled out the picture cards to show her mother.

'Whoa, hello, hold on a sec baby..' Hades sounded from his seat beside her looking wide-eyed with concern. Persephone gazed curiously at her flame-haired husband. '-didja remember to take out _the card?_' His heavily hinted words caused the white-skinned goddess to blinked then gasp shocked.

'Oh my days, _no_… thanks for the reminder!' Persephone pulled the cards to her and sifted through them before finding the offending card and removing it from the deck, placing it back in the black bag. Hades' yellow eyes rolled upwards in disbelief.

'The card?' Demeter asked as Thanatos fidgeted in his grandmother's arms.

'Oh, it's a card that the little inferno-' Persephone gestured to Thanatos. '-sitting there recognizes very well, in fact the F-word is officially banned in our house because of his reaction to it.'

'The F-word?' Demeter raised a brow with a slightly intrigued look.

'Phi.. Iota.. Rho.. Epsilon-' Hades reeled off the spelling of the forbidden word with a smirk. '-ya don't wanna know how he reacts to that..'

Thanatos made a long whiney squeal at this point, wriggling furiously against his grandmother in his desperation to get down and explore this new place.

'Alright, alright..' Demeter sighed. '-good Gaia your so impatient..' She lowered the ten month godling to the floor and the moment he was free Thanatos crawled away.

'Just like his daddy..' Persephone muttered with a smirk of amusement and the fiery god pouted his lips in a mocking gesture.

'My..' Demeter interrupted smiling and watching as Thanatos hurriedly crawled away from the thick oak table legs and blinked the object that had taken his interest, a vase of brightly coloured flowers. '-he really can move fast..' She sounded airily as she turned back to her daughter.

'Heh, _yehh_.. you gotta really watch him when he gets going..' Persephone smirked amused.

'Kids can be a handful..' Demeter laughed lightly. '-I should know.' She paused causing Hades to raise a brow at his wife.

'I'll bet..' He sounded in a low voice causing Persephone to frown very briefly at her husband.

'So..' Demeter sounded airily as she rubbed her hands together. '-can I get you kids anything? Ambrosia.. nectar?' She queried getting up from the table and heading over to her stove. Hades raised his brows at her word choice. She was only four hundred years older than him and she was calling him a 'kid'? He then chose to dismiss it since it was probably easier for Demeter to accept their relationship if she pretended he was closer to his wife's age.

'Eh, I don't do ambrosia..' The fiery god gave her a brief grimace as he thought about the rice-based dish. '-it gives me gas..' Persephone politely shook her head to her mother.

'No I'm fine, thanks..' The goddess smiled at her mother and Demeter sighed raising her hands in defeat.

'Suit yourselves..' She smiled amiably before pouring herself some barley water with ice and a sprig of mint before mixing it and returning to the table.

* * *

Little Thanatos had been staring at the flowers from his spot on the floor for a while trying to take in their strangeness. They were so bright and vibrant, he'd seen his mommy grow flowers before but they were either pale and gloomy or dark and disturbing and they never ever sat in clear containers inside the house. Daddy would never allow that. Curiously Thanatos gripped the side of the coffee table and hoisted himself to his feet, wobbling slightly as he removed one hand from the table and reached out for the nearest flower to him, a deep red rose. He recognized the type of flower immediately. He'd seen his mommy tending to these plants in the grove by the big watery fall but what fascinated him about the rose was the fact that the colour was all wrong, all the ones that he had seen were black, white or a deep shade of purple. It took the ten month old god a couple of attempts to grab the long-stemmed flower out of the vase but the moment his tiny little fingers touched the living plant it began to wilt.

So startled by this effect that his touch had on the flower in his hand Thanatos gave a frightened cry.

All three adults whipped their heads around at Thanatos' cry and both Hades and Persephone's eyes widened in astonishment as the rose in their infant son's hand withered and died. The moment her brain managed to get around what she was seeing the Goddess of Life instantly got out of her seat and moved over to her infant child who was now looking upset by what had happened.

'Thanny it's ok..' She sounded in a soft voice taking the dead plant out of her son's fingers and dropping it on the small table and cuddling her son. 'Look..' She reached around and picked up Mr Skelton who was still laying on the floor where her son had dropped him. 'Oh, don't be sad boss, it was an ugly flower anyway..' She put on her Mr Skelton voice and waggled the stuffed skeleton in front of her son and the little godling instantly babbled happily at the teddy forgetting his tears.

'Persephone..' Demeter sounded with a reprimanding frown that was ruined by the slight smile of amusement, her daughter was such a good mom that it was hard to get mad at her for her words. Hades meanwhile had moved and picked up the dried-up flower on the coffee table and was studying it as his wife was hugging their son.

'Ouch..' Hades sounded as he lifted the flower to eyelevel.

'What's the big deal..' Persephone swivelled around to her husband looking confused by the concerned expression on his face. '-you can kill flowers too, that's why all the ones downstairs are immortal otherwise I'd spend all day regrowing them.'

'Yeh but not this easily..' Hades replied turning his golden eyes to his wife. '-I have to really concentrate on the thing I'm killing..' The god then picked up a bright yellow tulip and his fist tightened around it, after a few moments the flower gave a small shudder and slowly began to shrivel. Little Thanatos blinked through his round golden eyes, watching the flower in his hand do the same thing that had happened when he'd touched the other one. His daddy didn't look upset by what he'd done, perhaps it wasn't such a bad thing after all..

'-Thanny here-' Hades continued with his explanation and tossing the dead flower beside the one his son had killed moments before. '-seems to be able to do it without conscious thought.. we just haven't noticed it before because all the life downstairs is immortal or already dead..'

'So?' Persephone sounded, still not following what the problem was.

'_So_..' Hades drawled impatiently. '-this makes the kid more powerful than me..' This made Demeter snicker amused as Persephone blinked at her mother.

'Peachy..' Hades sighed loudly while rolling her eyes at his in-law. '-I've just been emasculated by a baby and your laughing at me..'

'Oh Hades that is completely absurd..' Demeter sounded stifling her mirth. '-you'll never be emasculated by your own child.'

'What makes you so sure mom?' Persephone asked her unsurely.

'Because Thanatos was Underworld-born..' Demeter replied seriously. '-this means that he, like every other being born in that realm must always bend to the will of it's master..' The green-skinned goddess then smiled sweetly at the fiery god. '-which means Hades, that no matter how much power your child has you will always be able to control him.' For a moment Hades raised a brow at Demeter considering her words.

'Thanks..' Was all the fiery god could say in response with a slight smile.

* * *

As the afternoon wore on Persephone chose to introduce her son to her most favourite place above ground, her grove. The sunlight was weak but because Thanatos had never truly experienced the sun's glaring brightness the little ten month old godling squinted and blinked as his round golden eyes tried to adjust to the light change.

'Oh sweetie is the sun hurting your eyes..' Persephone sounded as she set her son down in the mossy shadows of her favoured willow tree.

'Here..' Hades murmured as he plucked a set of miniature shades out of a small wisp of smoke and then set them on the bridge of his son's nose. '-that better short-flames?'

'Boo..' Thanatos responded cheerfully flaring a little as he stuck up his arms and smiled widely at his daddy. Hades smirked in amusement at his little boy.

'Heh, that may work on the imps short-stuff..' The fiery god responded. '-but you will have to come up with somethin' better than that if ya wanna shock me kiddo.' Little Thanatos swivelled around to Persephone, interested in the fact that his mother was messing with some pale coloured flowers that the little god didn't recognise. He crawled over, just as he'd always done, to inspect this new plant. As Thanatos clambered over his mother's knees the goddess gasped and scooped up her little boy with a smile.

'Oh no..' Persephone sounded with a slight giggle. '-you are _not_ getting your touch of death all over my lilac-stripped lilies young man..' She reprimanded him lightly causing Hades to lazily wink one eye open. The fiery god only smirked before shutting his eye again.

'Fiery boys will be fiery boys..' He uttered casually relaxing back against the base of the willow tree. Persephone only rolled her wide green eyes in response and shook her blonde head.

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Ok, this chapter is just cutsie stuff to do with Than while offering up a little taste of his personality, those who are waiting for his first word don't worry… that will be coming very, very soon and it is brilliant!_

_As for the f-word... while reserching the Greek Alphabet I discovered that there is no 'F' in it's place is the letter Phi which is the symbol for 'Ph' which just like in our language makes and 'F' sound which is why it sits in it's place... I'm sure it's obvious what the f-word is but you'll just have to wait and see how little Thanny reacts to it.._

_Stay tuned…. And don't forget to review.._

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy X_


	5. Thanny's First Word

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**DakraixCresselia: Ha-ha… yeh, I laughed at that line too and 'peachy' is one of the less crude words Hades uses so it probably will pop up a few times over the story.**_

_**DisneyPrincess: Actually hon, it was Seph's voice for Mr Skelton but it is cute.**_

_**November Lynnes Oradot: Thanatos is cute but I don't think I'd be offering to baby-sit! XP**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: Hmm, I imagine Than's 'touch of death' will cause him a few issues but you'll have to wait and see on that front (personally I don't think Hades is emasculated as he rules the dead and to an extent death itself) and yeh, Than killing plants is a bit like Maleficent with Fauna's plant's except they wrinkle into dried up crisp rather than frost.**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Five:****Thanny's First Word**

'Can you say 'mama'..' Tele sounded holding up the miniature figure of Persephone she'd picked up from the chessboard. All five minions looked eagerly at the little godling seated in the middle of them.

'_Boo.._ ba-ba-ba..' He chirruped smiling and pointed at his mother's likeness.

'Can you say 'dada'..' Pain tried holding out the little figure of Hades towards his baby boss.

'Ba-da-bing..' He cried out cheerfully clapping his little hands animatedly.

'Siren..' Panic pointed to the blonde nymph-girl beside him but Thanatos only blinked innocently.

'Imp..' Raidne tried gesturing at the green imp who grinned toothily at the golden-flamed godling who laughed amused.

'Iddy..' He pointed at Panic and smiled proudly. The green imp rolled his eyes wearily at this response. It seemed he was never going to talk properly at this rate.

'Maybe we should try showing him the cards again..' Molpe suggested and passed Pain the picture cards which the pink imp took and picked the first card off the pile. The second the other four minions gasped as they caught a glimpse of the picture. A small fire. The girls instantly scampered behind the chessboard as Panic tried to snatch '_the card' _out of his hands.

'_Hey_!' The pink imp sounded pulling on the cards hard. 'I'm showing him..' With a sharp yank the cards came free of Panic's slim fingers and the pink imp lifted it up to the baby pyrogod.

'No, don't show him _that_ one..' Panic hissed anxiously as his eyes widened as little Thanatos' face lit up at the image on the card. The green imp flashed the baby a simpering grin as he caught the gleeful smirk on his little master's face.

'Why?' Pain sounded dimly then turning the card to him.

'_Vroom_..' Thanatos roared as he combust into golden-flamed skeleton while laughing with child-like innocence. The three Sirens had ducked down behind the chessboard to avoid the blast of Thanatos' excited ignition. The two imps however weren't so lucky as they both took the full flare of the explosion. Panic emerged looking blackened with his simpering grin plastered to his face, Pain on the other hand had morphed into a sliced of now burnt toast as the picture cards had dropped to the floor scattering everywhere.

Panic shook the soot off of his face then swivelled around scowling at Pain as he morphed back to his usual form.

'_That_ is why you don't show him that one..' The green imp hissed irritably.

The little godling then vanished into a curl of smoke and reappeared with his skin and eyes intact. Thanatos then picked up the card nearest him and looked at the picture before turning to the imps smiling widely.

'Da-da-ba-ba..' He pointed at the picture of the card which was a house before chortling and waving it around happily

* * *

.'Have you thought about what you want to do about Thanatos' first birthday?' Demeter enquired lightly as she and her daughter wandered towards the throne room with her son's dinner of apple puree and mashed worms and a little cup kid's nectar. Persephone made a light humming noise of contemplation. Her mother had taken time out from her busy late-summer schedule to drop in on her subterranean family.

'No not really..' Persephone finally responded with a little smile. '-we've been kinda busy thinking about who should be his mentors..'

'Oh, who are you considering?' Demeter asked conversationally.

'Well, I suggested Hermes because he takes such an interest in Thanny but Hades wants someone from the Underworld to do it..' Persephone rolled her eyes wearily.'-when I asked him who he had in mind he said he hasn't figured it out yet..' Demeter smirked in amusement at this as the two women turned into the throne room. Sirens had gone off to frolic in the Elysian Fields and Pain and Panic were working on the figures for this summer's quarterly review.

'Oh that god of yours is so stubborn sometimes..' The Goddess of Nature sounded cheerily waving a little chubby hand. '-I bet he's just waiting for the right candidate to come along.'

'I hope your right..' Persephone sighed heavily bending down and scooping up her baby boy who'd been playing with his toys on the floor. She sat him into his highchair and put his dinner in front of him. Thanatos clumsily picked up his rounded soft-pronged fork and after a few moments of trying he'd ended up with more food around his mouth than in it.

'Here sweetie let me..' Persephone sounded taking the little fork off her son and scraping what was around his lips before beginning to feed him. Demeter smiled adoringly at her messy little grandson as he ate his dinner.

'Oh, he's such a little cutie, I can't believe he's almost a year old already..' She sighed as Thanatos took a drink from his two-handled mug managing to spill some of the honey-coloured kid's nectar down his bib.

'Uh, I know..' Persephone murmured and began feeding her son again. '-it seems like only yesterday he was born.'

'Is Hades releasing the souls again this year?' Demeter asked her daughter gently.

'I dunno..' The Queen of the Underworld responded. 'I hope so, it would be nice to celebrate Thanny's first birthday as a family.'

'It got the mortals attention last year..' Demeter chuckled. '-your Underworld offerings increased-'

'I know it's crazy..' Persephone sounded putting the plate down letting Thanatos pick out a soft apple slice and suck on it. '-mortals usually ignore us until someone dies then the moment we have a baby they overload us with sacrifices..'

'I was hoping that maybe this year you could bring Thanatos up to the Elusion Harvest Celebration, the people would be so pleased to see him, they've been telling stories of the son of Persephone ever since they learnt of his arrival.' She smiled sweetly at her daughter. 'They're calling him Brimos.'

'Brimos? The 'strong one'?' Persephone translated the meaning confused.

'Hey, I didn't pick it..' Demeter insisted recognising the slight look of accusation in her child's eyes. '-besides, Orpheus wrote a sonnet about him which he'll be reciting this year..' She spoke as if trying to tempt her daughter with this information but Persephone shuddered at the thought of Orpheus, the musician considered every Grecian teenage girl's fantasy, she'd heard the nymphs on Sicily raving about him but his music was much more to her mother's taste than hers.

'Uh, don't say the O-word in front of my hubby, ok?' Persephone shrugged. 'He flares every time he hears it..'

'Why?' Demeter blinked perplexed.

'I don't know..' Persephone sighed. '-he just says that the guy's a schmuck.'

'Oh Hades says that about everybody..' Demeter scowled tetchily.

'Maybe, but he always looks really ticked off with this guy..' Persephone sounded musing over it.

'I wouldn't worry about it..' Demeter waved her hand dismissively. '-Hades probably doesn't like him because he's always raving about how great Hercules is.' Persephone smiled widely at this.

'Yeh..' She replied feeding her baby the last mouthful in his plate. '-that must be it..' As the young mother cleaned up her son then orbed off his dinner dishes to the kitchen Demeter sighed.

'I should get back to my duties, things tend to get a little hectic just before the harvest season, you will let me know when you decide what your doing for Thanatos' birthday won't you?' The Goddess of Nature smiled and scooped up her grandson.

'Of course mother..' Persephone smiled as Demeter clutched Thanatos close then gave him a kiss on the cheek, the little godling shut his eyes as his grandma kissed him then he winked one eye open after with a grimace.

'Must go..' Demeter sounded happily as she passed her grandson back to her daughter. '-take care and see you all at the start of the Harvest Festival in a few weeks, ta-ta my darling..' She beamed widely hugging her daughter before her orange tulip popped out of the ground and swallowed her whole, disappearing back to the surface.

Persephone blinked in shock at her mother's words before looking suddenly anxious.

'The Harvest Festival?' She gave a terrified squeak realising what that meant.

* * *

Hades scowled and flared irritably at the two imps who had been relaxing by the Pool of Lethe, taking a short break after dealing with the few bits of work that they had to do. Both Pain and Panic winced at their boss who was an angry shade of orange.

'Ok, so there I was with a client trying to close a deal when what should happen?' Hades was ranting irritably. 'My card was rejected, talk about embarrassment..' The fiery god spoke calmly despite his orange complexion.

'I know..' Panic sounded in a low voice. '-your usually so prompt with your payments.' Hades glared at the two imps before Persephone appeared out of a swirl of orbs with Thanatos in her arms.

'_Sephy_..' Hades drawled, his eyes narrowing lazily at his beautiful wife. '-ya haven't been overspending have ya my sweet?' The white-skinned goddess blinked confused at his words.

'Huh?' Persephone sounded as the little spied the two imps.

'_Iddy_..' Thanatos cried out and clapped his hands excitedly. Both Pain and Panic narrowed their eyes at their little boss' 'word'..

'I haven't overspent on my card..' Persephone frowned still bemused by her husband's words as her son tried to break free of her hold on him. 'Here..' She pulled a statement scroll out of a swirl of orbs and passing it to her husband. '-check it and see..' Hades took the scroll and ran his large pupils over it before nodding in agreement.

'Sorry babe..' The fiery god sighed passing the statement back and she orbed it back into it's home. '-it's just I'm down a couple of thou and I-' Hades broke off before his yellow eyes widened in realisation as to what must have happened to his missing drachmas. He flared irritably before swivelling around to the imps who were grinning meekly at him.

'Boys…' He drawled with a bite of impatience that was given away by his deep orange complexion. '-we haven't been buying random junk out of catalogues again, have we?' He flared irritably.

'It was Pain's idea!' Panic squeaked pointing at his pink partner who glared at his words.

'It was not..' Pain snarled.

'Was too..' Panic screeched back.

'Was not..'

'Was too..'

'Was not..'

'Eh, hello..' Hades' voice snarled making both imps swivel around with wide terrified eyes. '-we're kinda in the middle of something here..' The fiery god sighed frustrated as he twirled a fireball between his long now-red fingers.

'_Yahhhh_..' Both imps screeched and shot off as a large fireball flew after them.

'Pfft..' Hades snorted moodily. '-I'll settle it with those idiots later..' He drawled before turning to around to his wife and son.

'Iddy..' Thanatos sounded matter-of-factly causing the fiery god's golden eyes to swivel to his little boy.

'What do you think he's tryin' to say..' Persephone raised a brow at their golden-flamed child who smiled innocent up at his parents.

'Eh, I dunno but whatever it is it has somethin' to do with those little-yutzes and it _better not _be his first word.' Hades sounded testily, his blue flames switching to a slightly ticked bluish-white. Persephone smiled widely at her husband, knowing that he was secretly hoping that his son's first fully conjugated word was going to be 'daddy'.

'Hades, I wanted to talk to you about the Harvest festival this year..' Persephone sounded causing her husband to blink and return to his usual content blue.

'What about it?' He asked in a curious voice.

'Well, it'll be Thanatos' first trip up to Olympus, do you think he'll be up to it?' The white-skinned goddess asked unsurely.

'Pfft… he'll be fine..' Hades sounded dismissively smirking reassuringly at his wife. 'I'll betcha that by the time it comes to leave, Thanny'll hate Olympus almost as much as I do.' He sounded airily scooping his son out of his wife's arms and holding him up.

'Who's a big idiot?' The fiery god sounded in a crooning yet excitable baby voice causing his son to chortle amused.

'Ha-ba-zoo-sa-sa..' Thanatos exclaimed cheerfully flailing his arms animatedly.

'That's _right_..' Hades smirk widened in pleasure at his son's baby gibberish.'-Zeus is.'

Persephone only rolled her eyes at this father brat bonding, most families bonded over hobbies but it looked like theirs was going to be bonding over how idiotic they thought Zeus was.

* * *

Things in the Realm of the Dead remained quite as the summer slowly came to a close. The Queen of the Underworld was relaxing lazily in the only chair in the throne room. As her golden-flamed son was playing amiably on the stone floor with Mr Skelton and a couple of other learning toys that Hermes had brought down to stimulate brain development. At this moment in time Thanatos was trying to force a circular block into the square hole, the little godling flared irritably when the block wouldn't fit into the hole he wanted it to go in.

Hades meanwhile was stood flaring angrily at his imps again.

'Ok, which one of you wants to explain to me what is wrong with these figures?' The fiery god shoved the scroll with the summers soul intake into the faces of his two minions. Both Pain and Panic were shaking and sweating nervously, even before they looked at the scroll.

'Uh.. err.. what's wrong with it?' Pain sounded dimly causing Hades' orange complexion to darken as he ground his teeth with fury.

'You idiots, the souls from the Elysian Fields are missing!' The fiery god snapped causing little Thanatos to look up from his block-bashing.

'We're sorry your most combustibleness..' Panic wailed prostrating himself before the god.

'-we're mindless-' Pain started to moan but was cut off.

'_Iddy-yutz!_' A small voice squealed out causing both the imps and Hades to swivel around to see Persephone staring at Thanatos in shock. The golden-flamed godling chortled as his little finger was pointing at the two imps.

As Pain gawked at his infant boss in shock Panic narrowed his big yellow eyes in disdain at his 'first word'.

'Oh how did I know the first word that would come out of his mouth would be an insult?' The green imp drawled exasperated folding his arms.

Hades blinked at his little son in shock as Persephone clutched her fingers together beaming with pride… ok, so it wasn't the word she expected her little bundle of flames to spout but it was a word none-the-less.

'Wh-what?' The fiery god mumbled still stunned.

'Iddy-yutz..' Thanatos stated matter-of-factly jabbing his finger towards the imps and Pain finally seemed to wrap his mind around what his little boss was implying.

'_Hey!_' The pink imp snarled crossly. 'Did he just call us idiots?'

'_Duhh_..' Panic drawled in mock-stupidity.

Hades flared irritably at the sound of the imps voices.

'_Rrrr_..' Hades growled low in his throat swivelling around to his pair of minions who gulped timidly at his sudden loss of flame-control.

'Hu-Hades…' Panic started nervously but the fiery god blasted both imps clean out of the circular windows causing them to land into the Styx waters.

'Oy vey..' The fiery god sighed exasperated as Thanatos gurgled amused by the flying singed imps. '-at least he said idiots instead of imps.'

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Heya peeps, I had Thanatos' first word figured out pretty much from the moment he was born but I've had a little difficultly in writing it down in this chap, damn Stupid Block has been driving me nuts all this week!_

_Hopefully it won't stick around for too long…_

_Stay tuned… and don't forget to review.._

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy X_


	6. A Harvest Festival to remember

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**DakraixCresselia: He-he… Hades would never have forgiven his son if he'd said 'imp' first!**_

_**DisneyPrincess: Yup. Hades and Seph could have had it a lot worse if Thanatos had cursed but this way is funnier in the long run! XP**_

_**PrincessofSea: I love Pain and Panic too! It's a shame that some writers seem to forget about them the longer their stories run… but fear not, they'll always have a place in my stories! XD**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: Read on sweetie, the answer you seek is in this chapter… enjoy x**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Six:****A Harvest Festival to Remember**

'Imp.' Pain sounded crossly while scowling at little Thanatos.

'Iddy-yut!' The little godling flared crossly from his spot on the stone floor.

'Imps!' Panic scowled waggling a finger at his little boss. Thanatos had been calling them 'idiots' for a whole week and both imps were getting sick and tired of it, especially since neither of his parents thought to correct their child on this fact. Thanatos' rounded golden eyes narrowed at the slim finger that was now waggling moodily in front of him. Who did these two idiots think they were?

'Iddy-_yutz!_' Thanatos cried out frustrated then erupted into a blazing orange-flamed skeleton scowling through his bony brow at the imps.

'Don't correct the brat.' Hades snapped tersely from his throne, glancing up from his forms to the flaming inferno of unhappiness that his little son had become. As both imps flashed their boss a simpering grin Thanatos swirled into a curl of smoke and reappeared with a smug little smirk.

'Iddy-yutz _nuh_-_nuh_..' The golden-flamed infant had no idea what the 'nuh-nuh' meant.. he'd seen his daddy do it a few times when his mommy sided with him and since he was only a baby he liked to mimic his daddy.

'Yeh..' Hades drawled as his attention returned to the scroll.'-you tell 'em Thanny.' Although the fiery god had initially been displeased that Thanatos' first word had been directed at the imps he was pleased that it was at least an insult, his joy only increased when a few days later his son had managed to say 'dah-dee'.

Thanatos automatically looked up and smiled widely.

'Muh-Muh..' He uttered, which was as close as he's got to uttering 'mommy' and the next moment a swirl of white orbs clustered into the room and Persephone appeared wearing her best strapless black chiton, silver jewellery and a set of rollers in her long blonde hair. The young goddess frowned when she saw her husband hadn't changed their son into the outfit she'd left lying in the nursery for him.

'Hades..' Persephone sounded despairingly with her hands on her hips causing the fiery god to blink at her confused. '-aren't you supposed to be getting Thanatos ready?' She scooped her smiling son up off the floor and deposited him into his daddy's lap.

'Wha-?' The fiery god sounded in surprise as the little god fell into his arms. He then flashed his wife an oily smirk as her brow arched in slight amusement. 'Oh. Right, heh, kinda got distracted..' He shrugged pulling the forms out of his curious son's grip and causing them to vanish back to his study.

'Alright short-stuff..' He then sighed picking his golden-flamed son up. '-let's go get ready before mommy has a kanipshin.' Thanatos made an excitable cooing noise and laughed as both he and Hades vanished in a curl of smoke. Once her husband had left the throne room Persephone sighed, slumping down into the throne and began removing the rollers from her hair.

* * *

'Let's see..' Hades scratched his long chin musingly before clumsily pinning together Thanatos' diaper. The little godling smiled before seizing his baby bottle and squeezing out the divine breast milk into his father's face. The fiery god sighed as his flames sizzled out causing Thanatos to chortle amused and kick his feet excitedly.

'Perfect.. Now I'm covered in Seph's boob slime.' Hades sighed witheringly before wiping his face with the towel beside Thanatos' changing area, then once he had reignited his blue-flamed hair he picked up the tiny outfit his wife had set out.

The deep navy blue tunic with pale blue triangular design along the long sleeves slipped on easy enough over the little godling's head and into his arms.. But as Hades turned away to retrieve Thanatos' black dungaree-chiton his son vanished out in a shimmer of black.

'Than?' Hades sounded slightly worried when he turned back with the tiny black robe in his hands and seeing the changing table empty. He then ducked down and looked underneath to see if his son had somehow managed to clamber off, it wouldn't have been the first time Thanatos had scaled off the edge of a high surface. The little godling seemed to like doing these types of feats and Hades was convinced that when he was older he was going to be an adrenaline-junkie.

The fiery god couldn't see any sign of his white-skinned son or any flicker of his golden flames.

'Dah-dee..' A little voice sounded from above and Hades straightened again.

'Huh?' He sounded slightly surprised to find that Thanatos was standing up on the changing table smirking widely at him as his little hands were clutching Mr Skelton. 'Where did you just go..' The god mused thoughtfully wondering what kind of powers his son had just displayed. Thanatos only gave a little laugh of amusement before his father removed Mr Skelton gently out of his grip.

'Heh, alright ya got me short-flames now no more tricks ok?' The fiery god drawled as he dressed his son in the black-dungaree chiton. 'Ah… Fate _dammit!_' Hades cursed as one of the tiny skull pins pinged off.

'Uh-oh..' The fiery god's yellow eyes widened as he remembered that he wasn't supposed to swear in front of Thanatos as the infant god become a verbal sponge, trying to repeat any words that were uttered by those he lived with. '-err, don't you _even_ think of tryin' to repeat that..' Hades flared an orange shade which only made Thanatos give another gurgling laugh.

'Oy.. You just don't scare like the imps do, do ya short-stuff?' He sighed exasperated as he returned blue then turned his attention to the floor, looking to see where the wayward skull pin had landed but for some reason he just couldn't see it. 'Now where in the name of Erebus did that darn pin go?' Hades sighed heavily as he bent down to inspect the ground on all fours.

'Dah.' Thanatos sounded and the fiery god placed both hands on the changing table before heaving himself up so he was level with his son. Little Thanatos was beaming proudly while his little hand was outstretched to his daddy, in his palm was the missing pin. The little godling must have conjured it from the floor himself. Although Hades was pleased that his son was obviously practising to exercise control of his godly powers the fiery god couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed because little Thanatos wasn't using them while his parents were watching, so they were never sure exactly how their son's powers manifested themselves.

'Err, thanks kid..' Hades sounded plucking the skull pin out of his son's hand and reattaching it to the dungaree strap. He then began adjusting both sides of his son's chiton so it sat comfortably on his shoulders.

'Alrighty and we are ready to go.' The fiery god scooped up his son and the little god's golden flames flickered happily as he gave a squeal of delight. 'So let's grab mommy and get this over with.' Hades drawled then vanished in a curl of smoke, reappearing in the throne room and scooping a now fully preened Persephone into his free arm. With the two beings he cared about most in the entire cosmos in his arms the fiery god turned to the minions beside him.

'Boys… and girls..' He added as the three Sirens had returned from their rebirth duties in the Elysian Fields. '-mind the store for us, we're goin' upstairs..' Gripping his wife more securely around the waist Hades then vanished in a curl of smoke taking his family straight up to the Olympus cloud.

* * *

It was almost sunset when the subterranean family materialized on the cloudy surface of Olympus for the Harvest Celebrations. This meant that they had missed all the big important speeches and the all-you-can-eat-before-Bacchus-does-buffet but neither Underworld ruler cared. They had strategically planned to appear this late as the weak evening sun wouldn't hurt their infant son's light-sensitive eyes as much as it would have if they'd arrived earlier. But even in this faint evening glow Thanatos had to blink and squint, trying to adjust to the new level of brightness. When Hades carried his little son into his usual dark shady pillar and lent against it casually the little godling stopped straining to see, the darkness of the shadowy section made it much easier for Thanatos to see his new surroundings.

The little godling blinked in surprised as he took in this strange new world. This place was fluffy white and downright bizarre, it looked nothing like the dark cavernous recesses of his familiar Underworld home. That wasn't the most disturbing part of this weird domain. Everywhere little Thanatos looked there were godly bodies. Having only known beings that were already dead which were transparent and mostly silent while confined to the rivers and realms allocated to them. However it was quite disconcerting for an infant godling who was used to the silence of the Underworld to adapt to the now noisy cloud.

Clutching his daddy's large silver skull pin for support Thanatos' golden flame-topped head flickered as he swivelled one way before snapping around to the other side, his large round eyes anxiously scanning the room as the indistinguishable babble of the numerous gods droned from all around them.

Hades who was casually holding his young son in one arm while his eyes narrowed and clouded over in boredom, he had long since tuned out the tedious hum of the other gods. They never said anything of interest… boast about their followers and sacrifices, whine about others who had more followers and sacrifices, pretend to take an interest in said deity while secretly plotting on how best to muscle them out of some of their followers and sacrifices… _Oy vey, they needed to get a new shtick.._

The fiery god was vaguely aware of his son's fidgeting but Hades merely assumed that his little boy was curious about his surroundings, that or looking for his mommy. As soon as Hades and Thanatos were settled in their usual dark spot the white-skinned goddess had got on her tip-toes, pecked her husband on the cheek and then disappeared into the crowd of gods to locate her mother who would be the centre of attention as usual.

Thanatos' timid little whimper and the sensation of a little body huddled into his chest caused Hades to blink at the reality of the situation, his large pupils rolled downwards as he lowered his head to his chest and see his tiny son curled against him with his head buried into the drape of his black chiton which was pinned with the skull pin.

'Hey, hey, what's this short-flames?' Hades crooned with a slight smirk of amusement. Thanatos had never been shy about anything before, he had always been interested in exploring new things. At the sound of his daddy's words Thanatos pulled his face away from the black material of Hades' chiton, still leaning his little head against the flame-retardant material Thanatos rolled his big pupils up to meet his daddy's concerned gaze, a flicker of doubt and suppressed tears shone vividly in the infant's golden eyes.

Thanatos didn't say anything, he merely jammed his tiny white thumb into his mouth and began sucking on it, still clutching his daddy's chiton. This seemed to soothe him a little but judging by how tightly Thanatos was gripping his clothing the little godling was not completely relaxed.

'Hades!' A booming voice sounded jovially making both Hades and his infant son jump in shock. Little Thanatos quickly pulled his thumb out of his mouth and nestled his face back into his daddy's chest.

'Heh, heh.. didn't mean to startle you brother..' Zeus continued loudly as he grinned widely at the blue-flamed Lord of the Underworld, paying no attention to Thanatos who had turned his head slightly so he could peer up at his uncle with wide eyes. It was the first time that the little godling had seen his uncle, Thanatos was to little to remember his own Birth Celebration.

'-so how are things in the Underworld?' The tanned god was saying causing Hades' right eyebrow to shoot up. The fiery god really didn't see the point in all this mindless small-talk, he asked the same questions every year and he got the same answers because nothing ever changed.

'Oh same old same old..' Hades sounded with the nonchalant shrug of the shoulder. '-it's dark, it's gloomy, it's fulla stiffs and if it weren't for ma wife and the brat I probably woulda killed myself by now..' He drawled airily while trying to suppress the urge to wrinkle his nose in disgust at the smell of booze coming from Zeus, someone had been hitting the nectar early this year.

For a long moment the King of the Gods looked at his brother before he started laughing.

'Kill yourself.. Hah! That's a good one Hades..' The tanned god continued to laugh amused for a moment longer.

'Ah-heh-heh..' Hades gave a nervous laugh before adding in a slightly shifty voice. '-_yeh_, it was a joke..' The fiery god rolled his eyes at his brother's ignorance before muttering in a low voice. '-oy, whatta schmuck..' A little smile curled Thanatos' lips as he relaxed slightly in his daddy's grip.

'You say something Hades?' Zeus sounded scooping another goblet of nectar off a passing cherub and taking a swig.

'Was just talking to my kid Zeusy..' Hades replied easily while adjusting his grip on his son so he was holding him more securely, the fiery god then bounced the golden-flamed godling causing Thanatos to give a squeak of surprise at the sudden movement.

At the Lord of the Underworld's words Zeus' sky blue eyes finally noticed the tuft of golden-flames and little body that was nestled in his brother's muscled arm.

'Oh.' Was the only sound to come out of Zeus' mouth as he took in his nephew.

Even after the ten months that had passed the golden tanned Lord of Olympus had not forgotten what the Fates had told him the day of Thanatos' Birth Celebration. This little godling in front of him was Death incarnate. He'd done some research on what this would entail, mostly by asking Hermes some 'hypothetical' questions on what kind of duties a God of Death might have. Although the tiny blue Messenger God wasn't sure why Zeus wanted to know this he knew better than to question his boss. Hermes guessed that if a 'God of Death' existed then he would most likely be in constant contact with Atropos who was the Fate who cut the threads of life, he would also most likely hold dominion over the undead as even though they resided in the Underworld they weren't technically dead so Hades had very little influence over them… but this was all hypothetical, nobody could really be sure until a 'God of Death' was recognised amongst the pantheon.

'You brought him here?' Zeus sounded dimly causing Hades to flare a light shade of orange in offence. It had been pretty obvious to the Lord of the Dead that Zeus disliked Thanatos, not that the fiery god cared but he couldn't figure out why the tanned god despised his son. Most gods at least tried to get know somebody before making their mind up about them… but then, Zeus wasn't 'most gods' was he?

'Whatta ya, mushuga of somethin'?' Hades snapped with a bite of impatience now. '_Of_ _course we brought him! We weren't leavin' him at home!_' Thanatos flinched in surprise at his father's angry voice, the little godling then made a snivelling noise as tears threatened to appear.

'Aw Than..' Hades crooned softly switching back to blue, inwardly cursing himself for distressing his son. '-c'mon kiddo, big gods don't cry..' He jiggled his son as Thanatos' bottom lip wobbled, his golden his eyes watering.

'Oh brilliant parenting Hades..' Zeus sounded derisively, he didn't like it when babies cried. Every time one of his own kids had started crying he would immediately pass the child over to Hera. Hades' hair flashed a brief angry orange at the tanned god's words.

'Shut up Bolt Boy..' Hades uttered moodily restraining his temper so not to insight more crying from his son. The little godling had quietened and was once more resting his little flame-topped head against his daddy while sucking his thumb and blinking drowsily. Thanatos then closed his eyes and fell asleep with his little thumb still in his mouth. Hades gave a sigh of relief, unfortunately it didn't last.

'Don't tell _me_ to shut up!' Zeus boomed angrily causing little Thanatos to gurgle grumpily, his uncle's shout had woken him up. Immediately Thanatos burst into flame, bawling his flaming skeletal cranium off.

At the sound of the fiery little godling's wails the entire godly gathering turned towards the two gods and the baby.

'Aw geez..' Hades groaned before his flaming hair flared. '-good job _idiot!_'

'What did you just call me?' Zeus snarled scowling crossly as Demeter, Hera, Hermes and Persephone all pushed their way to the front of the group.

'_Id-dee-he-yut!_' Thanatos sobbed between his tears as Persephone scooped her son out of Hades' arms and began shushing him.

'Oh, there, there Thanny, don't you pay any attention to daddy and Uncle Zeus..' The Queen of the Underworld spoke soothingly to her son.

'I'm an idiot am I?' Zeus puffed out his chest infuriated by his nephew's word. 'Is that what you've been teaching your kid?'

'Zeus..' Hera hissed crossly. '-settle down, Thanatos is just a baby..'

'Yeh..' Hermes added. '-he's just mimicking words that's how all kids learn to talk..'

'Oh _please_..' Hades drawled in a jeering fashion. '-like I need to teach my kid anything about _you_.. He'll have you figured out soon enough _Bolt_ Boy..'

'Oh for the love of Gaia can we please have one celebration that doesn't end in an argument..' Demeter moaned as her cheeks flushed an mortified deep red and cringed as the whole of the cloud was watching them argue.

'Oh what a fine example of fatherhood you are..' Zeus sneered with contempt.

'Oh hoh!' Hades snorted back mockingly. 'Your one to talk, how many kids do you have _Zeusy…_ hmmm? Two dozen? Three? So how many of them did ya raise?' The fiery god cocked an eyebrow with a nasty smirk playing about his lips. Hera's lips twitched uncomfortably, she didn't like it when her husband's shady past got dragged into an argument.

'And ya didn't even raise your precious little _Jerkules?_' Hades sounded with a mocking sneer while sticking out his bottom lip, completed with a taunting wiggle of the hips. This was one jibe he was unable to resist. 'Ya just abandoned him on Gaia's surface-'

'You leave Hercules out of this!' Zeus roared furiously.

'That's it we're going home..' Persephone snapped, having had enough of the arguing and really wanting to get an upset Thanatos settled into his bed.

'Thank you Sephy!' Hades sounded in a pleased yet loud voice while still facing Zeus who was frowning as his blue-flamed brother continued to him. 'I wouldn't wanna spend another minute on this god-infested cloud anyway..' Persephone rolled her eyes wearily with a heaving sigh and shifted Thanatos who was now snivelling quietly in his mommy's arm. The white-skinned goddess then stretched out her free hand and gripped her husband by the shoulder before turning to her mother to say goodbye.

'Then go, it's not like you'll be missed!' Zeus responded shortly folding his massive tanned arms. The faces of several gods in the assembly said otherwise. Aphrodite, Hermes, Psyche, Bacchus and a select few others who knew the Underworld couple on a semi-personal level actually scowled at the Lord of Olympus. Zeus had never throw anybody out of a solstice celebration before and since they hadn't had a chance to catch up with their friends, Hades was more of an acquaintance but they found that Persephone's fiery husband could be surprisingly sociable when Zeus wasn't around to belittle him.

'_Zeus!_' Demeter sounded scandalised and she stepped forward with her hands on her wide hips. 'That's _my_ family!' She frowned at her ignorant older brother. Zeus blinked taking in the Nature Goddess's scowl before grinning.

'Oh come on now Demeter, this is Hades we're talking about-' He started gently.

'_He's part of my family!_' Demeter snarled sticking one slim green digit of her chubby hand in Zeus' face. 'If you think I'm just going to sit here and let you insult my family then your wrong..' In that moment Hades felt a rush of affection for his mother-in-law, she was being almost as protective over him as she was for one of her own two children… but this wasn't her fight.

'Deme, appreciated but not necessary 'kay babe..' Hades drawled patting her shoulder lightly. '-we gotta get Mr Cranky-Chiton to bed anyway..' The fiery god gestured over his shoulder towards Thanatos who was still blubbing and looking tired. Hades then turned to his wife and looped his arm around Persephone's waist and the white-skinned goddess sighed wearily leaning her head against her husband as the subterranean family vanished in a large curl of smoke.

'Well Zeus..' Hera sounded folding her arms crossly across her chest and throwing her husband a disapproving look, so much for her hopes of cosmic unity. '-I hope your proud of yourself..' Hermes meanwhile was ushering everybody away.

'Alright folks, shows over, nothin' to see here…' He then turned to Bacchus smiling as the crowd dispersed. 'Hey how 'bout kickin' some life back into this party, huh?' The rotund God of Parties winked while flashing an 'ok' sign at the small blue god before vanishing in a puff of pink shimmer. The next moment the lyre music was being pumped through the cloud and the nectar was flowing freely again, this made most of the gather ease back into the celebrations.

'-you not only upset the Underworld but you also disturbed Demeter's festival.' Hera was saying while all this was going on. 'What do you have to say for yourself?'

'He started it..' Zeus sounded immaturely. '-and he had to drag Hercules into it!'

'_Dear.. _you know better than to let a low blow like that affect you.' Hera sounded in a low firm voice. Zeus grated his teeth irritably… why were they all defending Hades?

'Gah..' He finally sounded irritably, flinging his arms sullenly like a moody teen. '-I've gotta work of some of this anger..' The tanned god then swivelled around and stomped off down the cloudy corridor yelling, 'Where's my _thunderbolts?_'

'Gods can be as stubborn as satyrs..' Demeter sighed rolling her cornflower blue eyes upwards.

'No need to tell me..' Hera drawled exasperated watching her husband leave with a slight frown.

* * *

'Alright..' Persephone sighed wearily as she shut the door to their large bedroom suite. '-that's Thanny finally asleep.' She plonked herself down into her husband's lap. The fiery god, who was perched on the edge of the bed already dressed his navy night-chiton flashed his wife a leer as the white-skinned goddess peeled off his own red and black dressing gown to reveal a silky black-lace night-chiton.

'Good..' The fiery god purred as his arms turned into smoky vapour and he began frisking his wife's thighs and hips. His eyebrows raised turning his leer into a seductive smirk. '-I finally gotcha all to myself..' His brows contracted in a manner that gave away what he had in mind for the two of them. At that point his hands re-solidified and curled her closer and Hades leaned into her and began kissing her jaw-line.

'Hades..' Persephone offered no resistance to her husband who worked his way down her throat. '-what did Zeus say to get you so riled?' She asked as the fiery god began to gently gnaw the nape of her neck causing her to flush slightly, finding it hard to keep her mind from slipping away from coherent thought.

Hades sighed heavily before pulling back slightly so he could look at her.

'Ahh, he was just bein' a jerk as usual..' The fiery god then leaned in and purred huskily into her ear. '-but let's not talk about Zeus, he's such a passion-killer..' His breathy tone and the desire in his heavy-lidded eyes was enough to cause the goddess to briefly shudder and go all tingly. She instantly whipped her blonde head around and kissed her husband passionately while pressing herself tightly against him.

Needless to say, the 'Disturb 'N' Die' sign was soon orbed onto the door handle to their room.

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Heya peeps… Oh wow! This chapter carried on for a little longer than I intended it to but I just love all the little baby stuff with Thanatos so I couldn't resist a little daddy/brat bonding moment. Plus it seemed right to mention Thanatos' powers as they'll be growing as he does._

_Some very small hints towards what to expect from an older Thanatos in here but as usual I'm keeping schtum on what he can do… mostly because I'm still trying to figure it out for myself._

_The story will be shifting on a bit soon I promise, there's so much I need to cover so as usual this story will be a slow mover, with maybe a few time jumps in it because I do have a fair few years of Thanatos' life to get through before the second part of the story can really start._

_Stay tuned…_

_Lot's of Love.. Ditzy X_


	7. The Mysteries of Eleusis, part one

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**DakraixCresselia: **_**From what I understand out of his dozens of children the only ones that Zeus had anything to do with during their childhood were Athena, Ares, Apollo, Artemis, Hebe, and Hermes (only because he stole Apollo's cows during the first week of his life) he had absolutely nothing to do with the rest of his children while they were kids. Zeus actually has some valid reasons for distrusting Thanatos which will be coming into the story but, yeh, right now he just looks like a jerk… it's kind of a reverse polarity of the Hercules film where Hades had no just reason to hate Hercules other than he was in the way.. **_**Wow, you would ask to see the awkward-as-sin pair wouldn't you? LoL, I'll give it a go but father and son take ages to draw so it might be awhile before it's posted on deviant 'kay? X**_

_**November Lynneus Oradot: Yeh, I was laughing too! I was trying to find a very crude description of breast milk and I don't know why but 'boob slime' popped right into my head! XD**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: Yay! Love for Demeter! I just loved the way Florance Anderson made her so warm and matronly in the series and I wanted to keep her that way. She always seems to get a bad rap from everybody in their fanfics (i dunno why, maybe she's an easy villian) but I have a hard time imagining someone that nutruring and kind would be able to hold a grudge against a man who loved her child almost as much as she did... and from what i can find out in myth she was very active in the upbringing of her first grandchild so she wasn't all bad was she?**_

_**DisneyPrincess: Like I said still figuring it out but the identity of Than's mentors will give you another clue x**_

_**liliesandroses: Glad your enjoying the story hun!**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Seven:****The Mysteries of Eleusis.. part one..**

As the season changed from summer to autumn and the number of souls coming into the Underworld increased Hades and his wife switched places, meaning that now Persephone was looking after little Thanatos while Hades was out at work. It was hard for the fiery Lord of the Dead to let go of his child minding duties at first. He had spent the last six months in the constant company of his infant son and the time had just flown by so fast that he was disappointed when the time had come for him to get back to work. In the mornings he would rise and get his golden-flamed son dressed and fed before disappearing off to deal with the Underworld.

Thanatos too seemed to find the situation unfamiliar at first but the flame-haired infant deity adjusted quickly, revelling in all this new attention from his mommy and her three minions. It stung Hades a bit when the little godling began crying for 'muh-mee' instead of him and it really put Pain and Panic's noses right out of joint when their little boss called their girly counterparts 'Sy-wins' as they were still known as 'iddy-yutz'.

After Thanatos' unsuccessful trip up to Olympus both Underworld rulers were unsure that introducing him to dozens of mindless initiates of the Eleusian Mysteries was a good idea. However since the flame-haired little godling was now as much a part of the Mysteries as they were they knew that the people honouring them at least deserved at least a small glimpse of the divine child they would one day invoke… once he had a purpose that is.

This meant that for the first time since it's inception six years ago when Hades and Persephone had first married they were to attend the Eleusian Harvest Festival, or as the fiery God of the Dead preferred to call it: Ten Days of Torture.

Demeter had been thrilled to learn that her subterranean family, however grudgingly, were to attend the full ten days of the festivities and she started getting things ready, which included losing the yearly dramatization of the Underworld couple's meeting…the last thing the green-skinned Goddess of Nature wanted was another explosive outburst from Hades. Demeter was also insisting that they stayed with her on Sicily for the duration of the festivities, after all there was so much going on it was pointless to make the long journey every night to the Underworld.

The Lord of the Underworld wasn't too keen on this suggestion, leaving the imps and Sirens alone in the Underworld for ten days straight sounded like an accident waiting to happen. Sure the five of them had now long since buried their minion rivalry, apparently Hecate's long dead minions had something to do with that, and they had also proved that they were trustworthy of such a gruelling task Hades still wasn't happy about leaving them alone unsupervised. He probably could have gotten Hecate to watch over them, since she was now an underling of the Underworld regime she could easily watch the realm while he and his wife were away, but again considering the circumstances surrounding her submission to Hades the fiery god figured it was too soon to entrust her with such a position. It could tempt her back into her old ways again and he really didn't want to risk that, he was actually starting to like the witch.

Since joining the ranks of the Underworld Hecate had been assigned the job of tracking down lost souls and guiding them back to the Underworld. It wasn't a particularly strenuous job and it was one she could do easily during her night time wanderings on the surface, being a Goddess of the Crossroads it was the perfect job for her. She could direct lost souls to the Underworld while still leading lost and weary travellers to their doom. The pale-violet-skinned goddess counted herself very lucky that her new 'mistress' was very considerate of her divine duties, had it been Hades who she was serving under Hecate would no doubt be under a much more rigorous management style. The fiery god was renowned in the Underworld for being notoriously difficult to please.

Finally after much deliberation on the subject Hades came to the conclusion that he would risk leaving the imps and Sirens alone, however they were to report to him with daily updates on Underworld business, his paperwork was to be redirected to Demeter's home on Sicily and on no account were they to make any executive decisions on anything. He might not be there but he was still in command.

* * *

In no time at all the fourteenth of September rolled around and it was time to leave for the Eleusian Festivities. Persephone was getting their son ready and the Sirens were packing up the various bits he'd need for his ten-day trip to the surface. Hades meanwhile was finishing off their own packing.

'Alright.. toothbrushes.. mouthwash.. razor-blade.. Old Spice..' Hades uncorked the bottle of cologne and slapped a little on his face making his blue flames flare briefly. '-a personal favourite of mine..' The fiery god dropped it into the black trunk along with his wife's bottle of flowery perfume and a few other knick-knacks she'd need while on the surface. He then turned to the bed and picked up his pile of chitons and placed them in before turning back and picking up his wife's considerably larger pile.

'What the-?' Hades sounded confused counting at least fifteen chitons on the pile, they were only away for a week and a half.

'Yo Seph..' He swivelled his flaming head around to the open door of their bedroom and looking straight into the bedroom of his son where his wife was. '-how many chitons do ya need? We're only going for ten freakin' days..'

'Well, I don't know what I'll feel like wearing so it's best to take a few options..' Persephone's girly voice floated back over to him and the fiery god rolled his eyes.

'Yeesh babe I'm only takin' five sets, ya got enough here to last ya a month. I mean..' Hades then flashed orange for a instant before throwing her a confused and irritated look. '-c'mon your not even gonna _wear_ half this stuff..'

'Look, just put it in the trunk and quit kvetchin' already..' Persephone's voice had a bite of impatience about it now and Hades' eyes narrowed at it.

'_Fine_..' Hades sounded in a falsely airy voice with a flippant wave of his wrist while dumping her chitons unceremoniously into the trunk. '-ya want me to pack anything else while we're at it, like the kitchen sink?' Hades sounded with mock-sarcasm. Persephone crossed over the thresholds of the two bedrooms carrying both Thanatos and the black shoulder bag the Sirens had packed with all his stuff inside. The white-skinned goddess raised a brow and smirked playfully at her husband.

'Oh stop bein' a jerk..' Persephone sounded lightly depositing Thanatos onto the large bed along with his bag. The little godling instantly began babbling happily and waggled Mr Skelton happily.

'And I thought that's why ya married me..' Hades drawled lazily rolling his eyes innocently upwards as his wife turned to the trunk and blinked at the jumbled mess inside.

'Hmm, well it wasn't your packing abilities that charmed me..' She sounded dryly before straightening everything out so it all sat neatly before packing up their night chitons and closing the lid.

'Got everything you need your most illustrious ones?' Pain's voice sounded as he and his other four partners appeared in the room.

'Sure do..' Hades smirked brightly before adding in an undertone directed at his wife. '-unless Sephy can think of anything else she needs..' Persephone only rolled her eyes at her husband's immature dig before turning to the minions.

'Nope, I'm all good..' She sounded with a smile and examined her long purple-painted nails.

'Ok, great..' Hades slapped his palms together and rubbed then eagerly. '-now I just wanna run over a few things with you five so that we're all clear on the score for the next ten days alright..' The two imps and three Sirens nodded enthusiastically and threw their boss matching smiles.

'Ok, number one, if there's a stiff that's not gettin' with the program whadda ya do..' Panic instantly bounced on the spot flailing his arm knowing the answer.

'Ooh, ooh..' He sounded impatiently before answering with a wide toothy leer. '-don't ask questions just jam him in the Styx.'

'Correct and if there's an arrival for Tartarus?' Hades raised a brow questioningly.

'Oh, I know, I know..' Pain sounded keenly. '-lock him up in the holding jail and inform you of his arrival!' The pink imp grinned.

'Exactly, I'll find a punishment for 'em when I get back..' The fiery god drawled.

'Heh, I think they've got it sweetie..' Persephone interrupted lightly while tapping her husband's long chin, he had been drumming in these instructions constantly for the passed week and their minions knew it by heart.

'Hey, just makin' sure..' Hades drawled lightly with a casual shrug. '-luck favours the prepared 'kay..' Persephone then picked up little Thanatos and slung his overnight bag on top of their chest before turning back to her husband.

'Yeh that's fine sweetie but c'mon, we gotta go I wanna be in Athens before the Sacred Artefacts arrive from Eleusis..' The white-skinned goddess sounded keenly.

'Ok let's blaze sugar, we gotta whole festival up there waitin' for, hey.. _you_..' Hades drawled carelessly as he snapped his fingers causing the large black wooden trunk with all their clothes in it and Thanatos' bag of clothes to Demeter's house on Sicily. 'Oh..' Hades' eyes widened as he looped an arm around his wife's waist, remembering something important he turned back to the imps. 'Don't forget to-' A swirl of white and blue orbs began circling the two gods at this point causing all three Underworld deities to vanish off as the fiery god's disembodied voice continued. '_-feed Cerberus three undead a day.._'

'Can do your flamefulness..' Pain sounded as he and his partners waved off their bosses cheerfully. The moment the orbs had dissipated both Pain and Panic grinned widely at each other… a whole ten days without Hades pushing them around?

This was gonna be _sweeet_...

* * *

As the Eleusis Harvest Festival got underway Hades was almost praying for the day he and his family would return to their simple and secluded home. The reason Hades had no temple of his own was not because he didn't want one but because he didn't wish to be constantly bombarded with requests from needy whiny mortals with no intuition of their own. The fiery god was a very private god and every prayer that popped telepathically into his head was considered an invasion of his privacy, unless of course he could wheedle something for himself out of it but that rarely came up these days..

The celebrations had started with a parade from Eleusis to Athens with each of the little farming settlements in between adding to it until the procession reached the big city. Nymphs and satyrs would dance and play pipes as the horse-drawn floats made their way to the Eleusinian Temple where the Sacred Artefacts would be entrusted to the curator and two priestesses chosen by Demeter herself for the task, of course their names were forbidden to be uttered outside the Mysteries.

The floats themselves were statue likenesses of Demeter and her two children, surrounded by things that the mortals associated with them; i.e. Demeter was surrounded by corn, barley and other vegetables and she was usually holding her customary Horn of Plenty, Persephone was surrounded by fresh fruits and golden ears of wheat and the couple with Bacchus either had wine, grapes and ivy vines wrapped around him.

The gods themselves watched the procession approach from above the temple and Thanatos, who had never seen anything quite like it was enraptured by the bright colours and gleeful noises of the mortals below, the Harvest parade truly was a magical time for an infant godling. He had yet to be introduced to the mortals at this point but in the time he had been on the surface his eyes had adjusted to the daylight enough for him to enjoy the sights and sounds of Athens, although he remained in the shade where the light barely touched him.

The next few days the mortals who had been initiated into the Lesser Mysteries during the Spring Celebrations would gather in the Eleusinian Temple and prepare for their purification and first communion. This was a time of meditation and reflection, under spiritual exercise they were to get their mind, body and soul ready for purification, they were to be washed so they could live just and true. Although none of the gods really needed to be present for this section of the celebrations they used the time for their own meditations seeking merely peace of mind rather than clarity. Even Hades, who's mind was usually a constant drone of afterlife regulations, self-set deadlines and quarterly targets, was offered a brief spell of release from his anxieties concerning the Underworld and how it was suffering under the imps' clumsy care. For the first time since arriving on the surface the fiery god found himself truly beginning to enjoy himself.

* * *

While his parents were off seeking inner peace Thanatos was left in the care of his chief babysitter Hermes. The skinny blue Messenger God was one of the few gods outside the family that the golden-flamed godling regarded with fondness and Hermes was more than happy to reciprocate his feelings. The tiny blue god had always been on friendly terms with the other gods and over the years he'd gotten to know many of their children but he'd never been so attached to them as he was to Thanatos, not even Hercules.

In a way the son of Hades reminded Hermes of his younger self. Thanatos was a precocious child, he was already talking and close to cutting his first baby steps, with a mischievous nature and an already well-developed innocent guise. It was true that by Thanatos' age Hermes had already been walking, talking and master-minding the theft of Apollo's finest cattle but this flame-haired little deity was well on his way to becoming a great trickster god, all he needed was the right mentor.

The blue Messenger had made no request to become Thanatos' mentor, he knew that Hades would probably be looking for a different kind of deity to mentor his son and besides the honour should go to Bacchus since he was Thanatos' uncle.

To keep the little godling amused Hermes took him along with him as he ran a few errands for a few gods. A couple of memos, some divine updates and guiding a few stray souls down to the Styx for Charon, nothing too demanding. Thanatos squealed out with delight as they zipped through the air. Usually the speed that the blue Messenger God moved at caused godly stomachs to do all kinds of crazy gymnastics but it didn't phase the infant son of Hades. In fact the faster Hermes moved and the more times he loop-de-looped the better Thanatos liked it. The tiny blue Messenger God knew that he would probably be told off by both Demeter and Persephone for jerking Thanatos around in this unsafe manner but it was worth it just to see him laugh with his infectious little baby chortles. The few gods that they met on their travels were pleased to see little Thanatos. Poseidon who had received a scroll from Demeter concerning her celebrations even bounced the godling keenly. Unlike his older brother Zeus the Ruler of the Seas was always pleased to see his little nephew and when his own newborn 'small fry' Proteus was a little older he would talk to Hades about introducing the two of them..

* * *

As the evening of the fourth night of the Harvest Celebrations came to a close both Hades and Persephone were sprawled out on the thatch roof of Demeter's farmhouse cottage waiting for the stars and their many constellations to appear. Below them they could hear the joyous laughter of their son as Hermes was playing with him.

Hades merely stretched out lazily and wrapped one arm around his wife's shoulders, rubbing them absent-mindedly to project some heat into her cold limbs. The last few days had given the god a long-needed chance to reflect on things and he had gained some perspective. He was definitely not going to worry about the state of Underworld affairs until he was back down in the big basement, if anything he should view this as a vacation, the Fates only knew how long over-due he was for one of those. He'd even flitted back and forth to work when he was supposed to be on his honeymoon seven years ago. Anyway it was only the beginning of autumn, how much damage could the imps really do?

The fiery god rolled his round eyes idly around to his wife who was watching the first of the constellations twinkle into view as Nyx weaved her magic across the sky. Virgo, her own likeness which had been created by Zeus as an apology to Demeter seven years ago, was the first one to glitter brightly against the inky indigo night. It was always the first star cluster to appear at this time of year and it's appearance marked the beginning of autumn.

'Y'know..' Hades murmured softly as his eyes wandered back to the stars. '-I've been thinking about Than's mentors..' This made Persephone's blonde head swivel around to him.

'Oh.' She sounded gently watching her husband curiously as his eyes flickered over the stars.

'Do we really need two?' The fiery god eventually turned his gaze back to her. 'I mean, I know it's tradition an' all but do ya think it's necessary?' The white-skinned goddess only smiled at her husband sweetly.

'Hey, you're the head honcho here not me..' She sounded lightly and shrugging. '-do _you_ think our son needs two mentors?' Her brow raised questioningly and the fiery god's lips twisted into wide twisted smirk.

'Hey, I was just askin' for your opinion..' He replied in a warm tone.

'-and I appreciate that but I trust you..' Persephone interjected still smiling.

'Then honestly..' Hades sounded musing on the subject for a moment. 'No. I think Than would do just fine with one.' His white-skinned wife smiled at this.

'Then one mentor is all he'll get.' Persephone sounded happily, she then snuggled closer to her husband trying to stay warm against the cold night air. 'So who did you have in mind?' She added lightly resting her head against her husband's chin.

'I dunno..' Hades responded slightly then his attention was drawn down by the sound of Hermes' voice.

'Alright shorty, I think it's time you hit the sack whadda you say little man?'

'No.' Thanatos' tired little voice instantly responded. Hades wasn't sure where Thanatos had learnt to say that, probably from the imps objecting to being called 'iddy-yutz'.

'Yeh, well unfortunately it's not up to you so c'mon, let's go.' Hermes continued in a light friendly voice but despite his objection Thanatos seemed to let the blue god take him off to bed, just proving how tired he really was.

'But y'know..' The fiery god continued once more once everything was quiet again. '-Hermes is always an option..' In response to this Persephone kissed her husband's full blue lips before snuggling down once more to watch the stars.

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Ok, wow… this is still pretty long and it's only half of what the chapter size was originally going to be! Hence the quick update as this is technically half of one chapter. I've got a real horrible cold again and unfortunately it's my day off so I'm stuck at home furiously typing away to save myself from insanity and the inevitable frustration of the fact that, once again I am stuck at home on my day off with one stinker of a cold… why do they only come when I'm off? Xb_

_Ahem… enough venting.._

_After much research I finally found some information on the Mysteries of Eleusis which of course is the celebration of Demeter, Persephone and Bacchus (or Iacchos). The whole thing is about suffering and rebirth, a bit like a spiritual re-enactment of Persephone's journey to and back from the Underworld and there are many bits that echo Easter in Christian religion (the Mysteries were basically a religion themselves) with communion and purification.. I felt the need to write this chapter as the Mysteries were such a huge part of Demeter and Persephone lives that never seems to get written about or is maybe a passing mention in peoples stories… the details are easy enough to find and I urge any fans of Hades and Persephone to check it out! I'm trying to stay as true as I can but as usual I've added bits and altered facts to suit my needs… the rest of the Eleusian Mysteries will be in the next chapter._

_Ok the constellation of Virgo was crated by Zeus after Hades and Persephone left for the Underworld so that Demeter could always look upon her daughter while she was away, it was such a nice piece of myth that I thought it would be an appropriate way for Zeus to apologise for his behaviour during P.o.P._

_I'm not giving away anything on Than's mentor yet all I'll say is your in for a surprise… so stay tuned!_

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy X_


	8. The Mysteries of Eleusis, part two

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**DakraixCresselia: The party is a great idea but it doesn't really work with my story but I'm sure you'll like my plans all the same X)**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: Yup, there's a bit more Po-Po in this chap for you but I think it would be too much if both brothers were against Hades, Poseidon kind of acts like a buffer between Zeus and Hades so he's generally neutral to their arguments.**_

_**DisneyPrincess: I don't want to give too much away but I think your gonna be surprised on the mentor front hun X**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Eight:****The Mysteries of Eleusis.. part two..**

After only a few days without Hades the imps were finding it very difficult to bear the colossal strain of running the Underworld themselves. They had never truly appreciated how much the fiery Lord of the Dead did for them until now. It may only be the beginning of autumn but an early outbreak of Proserpina Plague had caught the subterranean world by surprise, it seemed that the mortal world was yet to figure out the cure to this contagious virus. So while old and newborn souls were pouring into the Underworld the imps were finding the situation almost unbearable. They would dash back and forth trying to fit in the influx of new arrivals while dealing with the day-to-day running of the Underworld. Feeling sorry for their male counterparts the Sirens all decided to pitch in and help out the boys, the Elysian Fields too was busy but since Persephone was not nearly as tough a boss as Hades they knew that she would not complain if there was a slight lax in protocol.

'When's the boss coming home?' Pain asked his skinny green partner as they were sprawled out on the chessboard doing their paperwork for the daily Soul Count. Their female counterparts had long since gone to compose their weekly Rebirth Tally.

'I _told_ you already..' Panic sounded while rolling his eyes upwards in exasperation. '-not until the last day of the Eleusis Mysteries..'

'When's that?' Pain blinked confused causing the green imp to drop his pencil in frustration… his pink partner really was dense sometimes.

'Not for another six days..' Panic sounded irritably, the two imps were getting a kind of 'cabin fever'. They had been trapped constantly in one another's company having learnt the hard way that separating usually caused costly delays… Pain was so forgetful sometimes and could easily get things mixed up while Panic could get so tense and wound up under stress that he needed a companion to calm him down… but such close company was wearing them down little by little and it seemed likely that they would end up beating the tar out of one another before Hades returned home from his vacation.

'Aww _maaaan_..' Pain sounded slightly depressed by this fact.'-you mean we're stuck doin' this for another six days by ourselves..' He whined slightly now and Panic merely narrowed his eyes in disdain at his partner.

'Unfortunately..' He drawled tonelessly, in these close quarters he could easily contemplate socking Pain in the jaw but sadly he needed the pink idiot to help with the intense workload.

'But that sucks..' Pain sounded moodily sticking out his lower lip in annoyance.

'Uh, _yeh_..' Panic responded in the mocking tone. '-but at least the boss is having a stress-free vacation.' He tried to put a positive spin on it and then the green imp lowered his eyes to his scroll and continued with his tallying.

'I suppose..' Pain drawled thoughtfully which Panic assumed must have been a challenge. He continued to stare off vaguely into space instead of doing his work.

'I miss them…' The pink imp finally sounded snapping back to reality and turning his eyes to his green partner. '-don't you Panic?'

The green imp looked up into the face of his chubby pink partner feeling his tensions relax slightly at his words.

'Yeh… I do..' He finally responded before adding. 'I think I finally get what all those poets mean when they say 'you don't know what you got 'til it's gone..'

'What?' Pain sounded dimly, clearly not following.

'Just help me with these figures Pain..' Painc's eyes narrowed further.

'Uh, sure thing pal..' Pain grinned sheepishly and picked up his pencil. '-whatever you say..' He frowned as he ran his pencil across the figures.

* * *

The fifth day of the Eleusis Harvest celebrations saw all the new initiates gathered by the Aegean Sea just outside of Athens for the purification ceremony in which they would wash away their impurities by baptism in the cleansing salty waters. To insure their initiation would be accepted by Demeter the initiates would then sacrifice some baby piglets to the Goddess of Nature. The green-skinned goddess had always had a soft-spot for pigs, the way they ran around with their little round bellies and curly tails amused her but they were pests when it came to her crops so she was really didn't mind a few being sacrificed humanly. Their dead bodies would become part of the Great Feast this evening..

Today the small group of gods were joined by Poseidon who was keeping the sea calm as previously requested by Demeter, although the bluish-green scaled God of the Seas was very fond of his earthly sister so he would have done it anyway. Poseidon was here by himself today as since Proteus was still so little Amphitrite decided to remain in their ocean palace, their little small fry's lungs needed to be a bit more developed so he could handle the respiratory shock from switching to breathing pure air through the mouth rather than filtering it through gills.

Although he missed his own son the watery god enjoyed spending time with his nephew. The little flame-haired godling was sat on his uncle's knee making 'Po-Po' chuckle fondly, Thanatos was either groping his fishtail-shaped fluffy beard confused or just sitting there and staring up with huge yellow eyes at the slightly bizarre Mohawk-style fin on the top of his uncle's head. Once Thanatos had realised that his uncle's beard and fin were firmly attached to his face and cranium the godling accepted his strange appearance and relaxed considerably.

Poseidon had only spent a brief few moments before with his nephew as between him and Hades it was very hard to find a time when they were both free and able to get together for a few ambrewskis and a catch-up. Hades had been watching his older brother with his son apprehensively but he needn't have worried, it was just his pernickety and protective nature stepping in again. The fiery god remained slightly tense as if poised to rescue his son should Poseidon pose any threat to Thanatos' well-being… this just proved that Hades' inherent distrust for any of the Olympians was still there even though he had more allies now than he'd ever had before.

There was at least nine months between their sons and from what Poseidon had told Hades his little Proteus was a very laid-back infant, nothing really bothered him. After Thanatos and Eris' disastrous playdate the Lord of the Underworld was hesitant about introducing his son to another little baby. Eris had pretty much dominated Thanatos, she stomped around moodily and wouldn't let the little fiery godling play with any of her toys. It had broken Persephone's heart to see her little boy reduced to sulking moodily in a corner clutching Mr Skelton to his chest protectively while glaring hatefully at the red-skinned spoilt goddess. Hades had been forcefully reminded about just how selfish and stubborn Olympians could be and the moment that they had left Cloud Nine the fiery god declared that they would not be going back, there was now way in Tartarus he was going to let any other god make his son feel the same inadequacy that jerks like Zeus had once made him feel. But his son deserved to at least have one friend that was a similar age to himself so they would just have to wait and see how the two little gods got on when they eventually met.

The gods really weren't paying too much attention to the actual initiations themselves as the whole thing was rather dull. Once the new initiates had been baptised in the sea they moved back to the Eleusinian Temple for their first communion which involved breaking bread made from sacred grain-flour and taking a sip of specially fortified wine made by the disciples of Bacchus. While the mortals were embracing their religious destinies immortal talk had turned to the Great Feast that evening. This would mark a turn into the celebrations of Bacchus and it was usually regarded as the time when the 'real celebrations' began. This years promised to be a bona fide extravaganza as the celebrations coincided with the nymphs Harvest Moon festival which meant Cyane and her fellow nymphs and satyrs would be partying too. Both Persephone and Hermes were gearing themselves up for two seriously good nights filled with dancing and laughter, just like the good old days.

Then finally after all the bread had been broken and the fortified wine had been sipped the initiates were embraced and truly welcomed into the Mysteries to live out their lives honouring the gods who welcomed them into their sect, knowing that if they failed to uphold the just and moral teachings of the Mysteries they would be cursed by Persephone herself..

* * *

The Great Feast consisted of sweet honeyed tender pork of the piglets sacrificed to Demeter earlier and the kegs of nectar and kekron, a minty beer made from fermented barley hops and a personal favourite beverage of the green-skinned Nature Goddess. The sweet meat and free-flowing booze was enough to tempt some of the other gods to come down from their cloudy home to join in the evening celebrations. All of the gods were dressed in their best robes and Persephone was even wearing a wreath of narcissus and navy star-flowers, she had her Sirens bring the flowers up from the Grove of Lethe and she had chained them herself for the occasion. Amphitrite had even made it for the evening feast after convincing her eldest son Triton to baby-sit for his parents. Hestia and Hera appeared slightly late and without Zeus, the tanned god was apparently busy but nobody was too concerned as they were all having such a good time.

Once everyone had eaten their fill and rested the music started and the younger gods took to the dancefloor to join Bacchus and his loyal Bacchantes in their customary dance which involved twirling each other around at high-speed in a crazed sort of jig and chanting 'Bacchii Evvoia' during random intervals at the top of their lungs as Bacchus danced and jigged with a goblet of wine in one hand in the centre of this madness. The gods who weren't dancing could only gawp in shock at this crazed and high-spirited dance as the lively music played. The only god not dancing who wasn't bothered by the bizarre dance was Demeter who was smiling and clapping along with the tune. Hades who was now sat next to her since his wife had disappeared off with Hermes, Cyane and Psyche to join in with the madness blinked at his mother-in-law surprised.

'You've never seen this side of Persephone have you?' Demeter laughed heartily catching the bemused look on the fiery god's face as a gap in the crowd revealed Persephone dancing happily with her friends surrounding her. The goddess was naturally graceful as her dainty ankles and wide hips moved seductively in time to the music. She looked completely at home on the dancefloor.

'Uh.. no..' Hades shook his head roughly taking another swig of his kekron. '-I didn't realise Seph used to be such a party girl..'

'Oh yes..' Demeter chuckled heartily, watching as Hermes twirled each girl in turn grinning widely. '-every time there was a Bacchanal or a Nymph party she was there..' The green-skinned goddess sighed. '-her brother used to call her 'the life and soul of the party'..' She suddenly looked sad and regretful and continued in a somewhat mournful tone. '-then when my husband died she retired from the party scene, her heart just wasn't in it… and I don't think I helped matters..' Demeter sighed remembering the rows and the numerous times she had stopped her daughter from going to some of these dances due to the explicit nature of the celebrations, blind to the protests of Persephone who insisted that both Bacchus and Hermes would keep a close eye on her.

Ah, don't blame yourself Demeter..' Hades sounded softly. '-believe me, I've done enough of that to know it don't work babe..' He then smirked widely. '-besides bein' with Seph has taught me that it's not what ya did that matters, it's what ya do now that counts..'

Demeter blinked at her son-in-law for a moment, amazed that such words had just been uttered from him… if she hadn't seen him move his lips she'd have been convinced she'd just imagined it.

'That's actually very insightful Hades..' She eventually responded with a slight smile. '-since when did you start giving out advice?'

'Hey..' Hades shrugged lazily whipping out a cigar and lighting it casually with his thumb before blowing a large smoke ring and grinning at his mother-in-law. '-they don't call me 'Good Councillor' for nothin' y'know..' He then turned away and narrowed his eyes and leered in a slightly perverse manner as he admired his wife's alluring dancing.

'Demeter my dear..' Hera's voice suddenly sounded causing the green-skinned goddess to turn as her two sisters appeared beside them. '-what a marvellous Harvest Feast you've thrown, the Goddess of Nature has truly outdone herself this year..' She smiled warmly at her sister.

'We tried to convince Zeus to come down to see it but he claims he's too busy..' Hestia added tutting slightly, clearly showing her disapproval about him not attending.

'Oh, let's not worry about him..' Demeter chuckled inviting her sisters to join her. '-let's just enjoy ourselves tonight.' Hades glanced at the three goddesses who were sat next to him before hoisting himself up to his feet and flashing them a suitably suave leer.

'Y'know I think I'll go sit by Ares and let you girl catch up 'kay..' He quickly moved away as the three sisters who instantly began chatting amongst themselves.

* * *

'Uh, what is the cosmos comin' to..' Ares sounded the moment Hades had sat down next to him. The red-skinned god was nursing his kekron and scowling at the happy dancers doing their weird dancing.

'Eh, I dunno..' Hades sounded swinging his own kekron as his eyes darted around the crowds trying to locate his wife.

'Hey, ya remember the good old days..' Ares sounded nudging Hades in the ribs making him choke on his beer. '-when I slaughtered them and you buried them..' The red-skinned God of War sighed wistfully. '-good times, good times. But then _the_ _man _decided to give those lousy liberals more freedoms and chiselled a decree that meant I had to find a _reason_ to start a war..' Ares pulled a disgruntled face. Hades only nodded vaguely knowing that 'the man' was Zeus.

'Yeh well, Bolt Boy screwed us both there..' Hades sounded in a low tone frowning slightly and taking a larger swig of his kekron.

'And look what we get..' Ares slammed his empty pewter pint down. '-freakish folk-dancing!'

'There's just no room for hot-headed Titans like us no more..' Hades agreed vaguely while watching his wife as she was now dancing with her brother.

'You said it Hades..' Ares sounded before getting another two pints of kekron from a passing tray and passing one to his uncle.

'So who's watchin' your kid tonight?' The red-skinned god asked and Hades sighed.

'Hecate..' He sounded with a slight edge of despair in his voice as he thought of the witch.

'What?' Ares sounded turning around to his uncle. 'I thought you didn't trust her.'

'I don't..' Hades responded. '-but the witch was the only one we could get on short notice and since she only takes orders from the wife so there's no much I can do.' He shrugged and took a swig of his beer.

'Heh, that's why I never married..' Ares sounded amused. '-women just try to take control..'

'Amen..' Hades drawled smirking at his nephew. '-but their useful for other things.. eh?' The fiery god nudged Ares with a sly look and the red-skinned god snickered.

'I'll drink to that..' He sounded before chinking his drink with Hades and both god's necked it.

After a short while the two gods were getting slowly drunker and drunker.

'What is the deal with Bacchus?' Ares sounded crossly as the rotund pink god was now drunk and hanging off of two pretty nymphs who he was obviously going to 'get with'.

'I dunno… musht be animal magnetism.' Hades sounded with a vague slur squinting at his brother-in-law as the strong minty beer was going straight to his head and slowly marinating in his brain into an inebriated state.

'Pfft..' Ares snorted moodily. '-yeh, right..' He rolled his eyes moodily before he caught sight of Apollo who was chatting up some lilac-haired field nymph who was giggling girlishly and batting her eyelashes. '-look, even he's gettin' some action..' Ares sounded even more irritated as Hades turned to see what he was looking at. The next second Apollo and his little nymph disappeared into the darkness.

'He sure ish..' Hades snickered drunkenly into his pint of kekron.

'I bet even Zeus is having more fun than me..' Ares griped moodily into his pint and this wiped the drunken smirk off of his uncle's face.

'Hey, don't even get me shtarted on that schmuck..' Hades slurred frowning at his nephew for mentioning the tanned god and swaying dangerously. '-he makes me wanna retch-' The fiery god instantly fell back off his seat and slumped unconscious onto the floor, his flames smouldering out and leaving him bald to boot. Ares burst out laughing at the light-weight that his uncle was.

'Hey Sephy..' He bellowed to his white-skinned cousin and wife of Hades. '-I think your husband's out for the count..' Persephone who'd been resting only a few feet away with Hermes, Cyane and a Pometini swivelled her blonde head around and gasped at her unconscious husband.

Instantly the goddess abandoned her drink and flew to her husband's side, crouching over his him. Once she had deduced that he was only in a deep inebriated sleep Persephone seized his shoulders and tried to heave him upright. He barely moved an inch as she jerked him.

'Oh my days..' She puffed letting her husband slump back down. '-he weighs a ton..'

'Here babe, let us help you out..' Hermes sounded and both him and Cyane helped Persephone get the god upright, both Persephone and Hermes had one of Hades' arms over their shoulders as the god's head slumped forward.

'C'mon..' Persephone sounded. '-let's get him to bed..' She sighed as her husband gave a brief snort but didn't wake, like their infant son Hades could sleep like the dead when his fears weren't disturbing his sleep.

It took all three of them to get Hades back to Sicily. Cyane, Persephone and Hermes carried him as they orbed straight into the home of Demeter. Cyane opened the door as the three friends staggered under Hades' immense weight and slumped him into an upright sitting position on the bed. Hades only gave a brief groan before a sleepy smirk spread across his lips.

'I'm sure I've said this before but _man_, I wish I could sleep like that..' Hermes smirked amused at his bald uncle.

'Alright guys I can take it from here, you go back to the party I'll be back once I've got Hades dressed for bed..' Persephone sighed heavily and placed her hands on his shoulders to stop him from slumping backwards, her husband had always been such a light-head when it came to alcohol.

'Are you sure you want to go back to the party?' Cyane asked unsurely.

'Yeh, Cya his night might be over but mines not..' Persephone raised a brow smirking. '-ok, just go I'll only be a few minutes..'

'Err, ok hon, whatever you say..' Hermes sounded as he linked an arm around Cyane's waist as the little naiad waved bye. '-see ya soon..' They then vanished in a blue blur leaving the Queen of the Underworld with her unconscious husband.

'Alright, ok..' She sighed before turning to her husband and fiddling with his silver skull pin trying to loosen his black chiton. At that moment Hades stretched and his arms curled around his wife's waist causing Persephone to freeze before she could remove his clothing.

'Mmm.. Seph..' He sounded sleepily as his smile widened slightly and he pulled her into an embrace. For a brief moment she thought he might actually wake up before his head slumped onto her shoulder and he was snoring lightly. Persephone rolled her eyes and wriggled against her husband's sleepy embrace.

'Uh, cute, real cute Hades..' She sounded then managed to pull herself out of his loose grip and push him back so he fell onto the bed.

'Y'know what.. to Tartarus with this..' Persephone raised her hands in defeat deciding her husband could just sleep in his clothes, she bent down and swung Hades' legs onto the bed before pulling the blanket over him and orbing off back to the party.

* * *

The next day Demeter appeared in the kitchen to find her daughter awake and fully dressed, standing by the sink with a large amphora of water.

'It's a bit late in the year for watering plants pumpkin..' The Nature Goddess sounded surprised to see her up first. Persephone had slept with her mother in her bed so she didn't disturb her husband. Like Bacchus the white-skinned Goddess of Life could tolerate a large quantity of alcohol and still be bright the next day, although Persephone did not get up mid-afternoon like Bacchus would.

'Oh this isn't for plants mother..' Persephone sounded cheerfully smiling at the green-skinned goddess. '-this is for my husband.' She then waved her hand vaguely over the amphora making it vanish in a swirl of orbs. The young goddess then finished off preparing little Thanatos' breakfast. Demeter could only blink before there was the sound of a large splash above them.

'_YaaahhhhhH!_' Persephone only smirked amused by her husband's startled cry. '_Sephy!'_

'Sounds like my little sweet-flames just woke up..' The white-skinned goddess sounded lighty as she picked up a small dish of ambrosia and pomegranate seeds and placed in front of her son.

'Num, num..' Thanatos sounded turning to the dish after being momentarily distracted by his daddy's yelling, he dipped his soft fork into the rice-dish and began spooning his breakfast into his mouth as his mother watched over him.

Demeter only groaned and shook her head in response. She loved her family dearly but after six days with them she was suddenly looking forward to when the three of them went home and left her in peace..

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey Peeps, OMG that's part two and I'm still not done! I just couldn't resist writing in some drunken Hades antics… he's just so funny when he's wasted! XD_

_The Bacchantes, or Maenads as they were know in Greek, were the rowdy female followers of Bacchus and were infamous for their disorderly behaviour, they did have a tendency to go nuts and kill or have massive orgies but since this is Disney I kind of dumbed it down… a lot!_

_For the hell of it (and because I had Stupid Block at the time) I decided to count all my OC's since starting P.o.P and I nearly fell off my seat when I counted twenty-four different characters (this includes characters that have only had a brief mention but are mapped out personality-wise in my head)… and more amazingly, once this fic is finished their will be another ten to add onto the list! I'll admit I don't have many notes for character reference but I can easily picture how a character looks and acts in my head… I do hope I haven't got a Mary-Sue amongst them but I have a feeling someone would point it out if I did. No two characters are exactly the same but many have personalities either inspired by friend's, family or other films I've seen.._

_Stay tuned for part three!_

_Love… Ditzy X _


	9. The Mysteries of Eleusis, part three

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**DakraixCresselia: Glad you liked drunken Hades, it's not very often you see it but I imagine he'd either be an angry drunk or just pass out because he doesn't come across as much of a drinker in the film or series. And yeh, how else was Seph going to wake him up? X**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: Yeh, it is kind of like Underworld Takeover, that's where I got the idea for drunken Hades from originally…and thanks for the vote of confidence on the Mary-Sue front, I hope people would point something like that out so I could fix it X**_

_**DisneyPrincess: Oh yes, Pain and Panic miss Hades… you'll see just how much at the end of this chapter. Ha-ha, more partying in this chapter for you and more Hermes too! X**_

_**Thraxbaby: Heh, glad your enjoying the story hun.. Stay tuned XD**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Nine:****The Mysteries of Eleusis.. part three..**

The Harvest Moon Festival was held in Satyrville, the largest nymph and satyr community in all of Greece. Nestled deep in the forests of Etna the wood sprites could live in peace and worship Bacchus, Demeter and Persephone who were their elementary deities. Unlike the mortals who remembered their celebrations by date the nymphs and satyrs remembered them by lunar cycle, celebrating their bountiful harvest when the moon was full and at it's peak. Unlike the mortal celebration there was very little religious attachment to this night, once Demeter had been praised and had accepted the offerings the satyrs and nymphs would then drink, dance and sing until the sun came up again.

Having grown up with nymphs both Hermes and Persephone were buzzing about tonight's celebration while Hades, who still hadn't forgiven his wife for the rude awakening that morning, was less enthusiastic about the whole thing. The fiery god hadn't been to the Harvest Moon Festival since he'd been dating Leuce, who had been a wood dryad, but he doubted the celebration had changed that much since he'd last gone. He'd probably spend the evening fighting off the random advances of nymphs who were far too naïve and easily impressed by a guy's godly status. It was just unlucky for them that Hades' marriage actually meant something to him.

Fortunately for Hades his wife's reputation managed to spare him from a whole night of, 'Sorry ladies, I'm taken..'. The twisted story of what had happened when Minthe had tried to 'lure' the fiery god away from Persephone had spread around the satyr and nymph community faster than wild fire. It wasn't so much Persephone's jealousy and vindictive nature that terrified the wood sprite community but more so her position as Goddess of Life, after all none of them wished to be cursed for the rest of their lives.. to them being turned into a kitchen herb was worse than a death sentence. Ok, so none of them knew that in actual fact Minthe herself was now living by the Pool of Lethe and the little mint plants growing around them were in essentially her 'babies'… still, neither Hades nor Persephone saw any reason to enlighten them of this fact.

The offering was made in the great temple of Demeter at sunset and once Apollo and his glowing golden chariot had disappeared the celebrations began in the great clearing. Satyrs began to play music using drums, lyres and pan-pipes playing a cheerful jig which made both gods and wood sprites grab a partner and begin dancing a kind of native reel. As usual Hermes and Persephone were dancing together and being gods they danced gracefully together in the centre as nymphs and satyrs danced around them.

Hades watched the dancing while drinking his oak-leaf wine which had been made by the local wood sprites especially for the occasion. There was a choice between sweet spring leaf wine or the more mature autumn leaf wine which had been fermenting for longer. The fiery god was too busy watching the dancing, feeling no resentment towards Hermes as the tiny blue god danced and laughed with Persephone. The two of them had been friends for so long that there was no need to be envious, in fact Hermes was one of only a few gods that Hades trusted with his wife. The fiery god was so absorbed in watching the dancing that he didn't even notice a tall willowy pale blue nymph approach him.

'Hello Hades..' The silvery voice of the nymph sounded causing the fiery god's head to snap around in shock to see a round-faced nymph with long blue hair, almond-shaped deep brown eyes and full lips standing by him smiling.

Hades blinked bemused, certain he'd seen this nymph somewhere before but unable to place her face.

'You don't remember me do you?' The nymph smiled widely, perching down beside the god on one of the mossy stumps.

'Uh.. No. Sorry babe, ya might need to jump-start the ol' memory for me.'

'I'm Maia..' The nymph sounded amiably. '-my son is dancing with your wife..'

'_Oh_-kaay..' Hades' eyes narrowed in disregard. '-that's not helpin' sugar..'

Maia shook her head wearily at the fiery god and sighed exasperated, she might not have seen him in a few centuries but he hadn't changed a bit.

'I was best friends with Leuce before she died..' The blue nymph sounded in a tone that clearly expressed her frustration at Hades' ignorance.

'_Oh_..' Hades' eyes widened finally recognising his ex's best friend, he hadn't seen her in so long he'd almost forgotten what she looked like. The fiery god then scowled at Maia before adding irritably, '-well why didn't ya just freakin' say so!' Maia rolled her warm brown eyes but decided to ignore his words and took a sip of her oak-leaf wine.

'So..' Hades sounded lightly to the blue-skinned nymph as he swirled his own wine. '-whatcha been doin' with yourself these last few centuries?'

'Oh, not much, not much..' Maia replied. '-raising Hermes, heh, he was a such a little trouble-maker..' She sighed looking over at little god who was dancing with Demeter's daughter, a reminiscent far-away smile. '-always sticking his nose into places it didn't belong..'

'Uh, tell me about it..' Hades sounded with an air of disdain. '-fast forward four hundred and thirty-six years and Twinkle-Toes hasn't changed a bit.'

'What about you Hades, what have you been up to?' Maia asked politely.

'What? Ya didn't hear?' The fiery god raised a brow amused. 'I tried to takeover Olympus then when that bombed I got married and had a kid..' Maia giggled amused.

'I meant besides that..' The blue-skinned nymph smiled girlishly.

'Oh ya know..' Hades shrugged airily. '-takin' in dead guys and givin' them an afterlife..'

'Hah!' Maia snorted in amusement, he made it sound like it was charitable work but she knew him better than that. 'I forgot what a kick in the teeth you could be..' She snickered amused. There was a short pause as they watched the dancing. Persephone was still partnered with Hermes and they were doing a different kind of dance. A fast paced set jig which involved twirling their partner extremely quickly before working their way down the line on the opposite side before arching at the end and letting every other partner in the set through before beginning again.

'Hey, I hope you don't find this too personal Maia..' Hades then sounded turning back to the nymph next to him. '-but uh, whatever happened to Wing Boy's dad?'

Maia blinked then flushed a violet blush of demure embarrassment.

'Oh, that was just a silly mistake..' Maia sounded waving him off trying to control her blushes.

'Pfft… what ya do? Sleep with Zeus?' Hades rolled his eyes upwards with a mocking smirk but his face twisted into shock as Maia only hung her head in shame.

'_Oh… My… Days!_' Hades gasped in horror. 'You didn't?'

Maia only dropped her eyes to the floor.

'C'mon Maia..' Hades snapped at her irritably. '-he's a big idiotic jerk, how in Tartarus did he even getcha into bed?'

'You don't want to know..' Maia replied then placed her head in her hands.

'Ok, ok..' Hades waved off her words. '-that's not important babe. Does Hermes even know who his father is?'

'_No!_' Maia suddenly lifted her head and frowned at Hades. 'And I don't want him to know either, he's better off not knowing that his father is the god he works for..'

'You said it sugar, that kinda information could drive him completely mushuga..' Hades drawled with a smirk.

'Swear by the Styx you won't say anything Hades..' Maia suddenly seized the front of the fiery god's black chiton tightly in her fists.

'What? Not even to my wife?' Hades sounded looking both surprised and bewildered by Maia's determined yet slightly demented look.

'No, not even to Persephone..' The nymph sounded. '-you are the only other god apart from Zeus who knows Hermes' true parentage, he just thinks that he was fathered by some boorish over-sexed immortal jackass who bailed the minute he found out I was pregnant..' Hades snickered slightly at this point.

'Heh, well he's not far off the truth..' The fiery god sounded dryly.

'_Hades!_' Maia hissed irritably at him and the god waved his hand dismissively.

'Alright, ok. Yeesh.. don't get your toga in a twist..' Hades drawled before adding, '-I swear the Styx I won't tell a soul..' Maia let him go satisfied and the god grumbled under his breath. 'Ai-yi-yi vie is mir..'

At this point Hermes and Persephone appeared out of the crowd and the Goddess of Life plopped down by her husband as Hermes embraced his mother. It was only now that the pair were together did Hades realise how much like his mother the little blue god was.

'_Mom_…' Hermes cried out joyfully embracing his mother. '-you made it!' He then pulled back and blinked at the fiery god before adding to Maia in a slightly confused voice, 'Hey, I didn't know you knew Hades..'

'Oh yes..' Maia sounded, ushering her son into the mossy seat next to her. 'We're old friends..'

'Really?' Persephone sounded surprised by this and lifted her head slightly from it's resting place on Hades' shoulder. 'I didn't know that..'

'Well, she was more Leuce's friend than mine babe..' Hades drawled as his arm curled around his wife.

'Ahh…' The white-skinned goddess sounded in an understanding tone.

'You and Leuce were an item?' Hermes blinked amazed causing Hades to frown before Maia cut in.

'That was along time ago sweetheart, Hades and I were just catching up..' She sounded and smiled at her only child fondly. 'So have you been keeping out of trouble young man?'

'Hey, I try my best mom but trouble always seems to find me..' Hermes sounded smirking and shrugging frivolously.

'Hmmm..' Maia pursed her lips and threw her son a questioning look as she kinked a brow in disbelief.

'Aww, c'mon..' Hermes whinged slightly. '-don't start with the third degree mom, this is supposed to be a party let's just go with the flow..' Both Persephone and Hades smirked as they sipped their oak-leaf wine, enjoying the sight of the usually confident god trying to schmooze his mother.

The four of them passed the night amiably laughing, joking and swapping stories. Maia even convinced Hades, who wasn't into dancing publicly unless it was a mocking happy dance while gloating at someone else's downfall, to dance a slow waltz with his wife near the end of the night. While they twirled on in the clearing Persephone leant her head on his shoulder and sighed happily, it was the perfect end to a perfect evening..

* * *

As the celebrations of Bacchus came to an end it was time for the initiates and patrons of Eleusis to return to their resident town for the last part of the Mysteries. On the seventh night the mortals began the long walk home carrying a torch of fire to light the way, this was to symbolise Demeter's fruitless search for her daughter. This made a kind of luminous caterpillar of light that snaked from Athens all the way back to Demeter's temple in Eleusis, it truly was a beautiful sight to behold.

By the time the mortals had made it home to the grand temple of the Nature Goddess they were weary from the long trip but as they approached the steps to the holy shrine they were met by the most awe-inspiring sight of their life. Persephone herself appeared out of a golden burst of flames, provided by her husband who wished to remain incognito, in her arms was their eleven month son. The mortals blinked at the beautiful white-skinned goddess who smiled serenely at them while her little son only gazed at the mortals amazed, he'd never been so close to these beings while they were still alive before.

As the mortals all filed neatly into the temple for midnight mass, Thanatos' head rolled from mortal to mortal taking in their slight differences from each other and still in awe of how different they looked to the dead ones in the Underworld. Thanatos was used to seeing them pearly and see-through while floating along with an expressionless face, but perhaps what was most disconcerting to the infant godling was the fact that these living mortals did not remain quiet like dead ones. When they passed the two divine beings the mortals would either bow low or say things like, 'Good to finally see you master Brimos..', which of course confused Thanatos into looking around for 'Brimos' since he was too young to realise that the mortal was calling him by his chosen name for the Mysteries.

Once the mortals had all filed into the temple for a short midnight mass Thanatos looked up to his mother still bewildered by the fact that mortals had been calling him 'Brimos' instead of Thanatos.

'Iddy-yutz Mama?' The little godling sounded confused blinking up at his mother as his finger pointed to the mortals. Persephone felt her heart swell in pride at her little boy's first two word conjugation and she smiled widely at him, still clutching him close to her chest.

'Yes sweet-flames..' She sounded softly and kissed her son's forehead. '-that's exactly what they are..' Then both mother and son vanished out in a swirl of white orbs to rejoin Hades who was waiting for them somewhere inside the temple with Demeter.

The last few days of the Eleusian Mysteries were dedicated to Persephone's transformation into the Queen of the Underworld. It was the only part of the Mysteries in which both Hades and Thanatos were recognised but of course they were worshiped under their Eleusian names of 'Plutus' and 'Brimos'. The fiery god, who had always hated his allocated name, threw his best 'if-you-call-me-Plutus-one-more-time-I'll-drag-you-down-to-the-deepest-part-of-Tartaus-and-leave-you-there' scowl which usually had the mortals either running away scared or shaking and gibbering like an imp. Little Thanatos would give a gurgling chortle of amusement which caused his little golden-flamed quiff to ripple animatedly. Even at this young age he admired the kind of fearful reverence that his father had and the powerful influence it had on the mortals fascinated him. Somewhere in the back of his infant mind Thanatos wondered if one day he too would have that kind of respect.

'Iddy-yutz dah-dee..' He chortled as he clapped his hands in delight causing Hades' scowl to melt away into a smirk.

'Dam straight short-stuff..' Hades uttered before pulling a cigar out of nowhere and lighting it with the golden flames on his son's head before sighing and sending smoke everywhere with a wide smirk of satisfaction.

These last few days were about suffering and atonement, as well as celebrating the sacred marriage of Persephone and her husband. The initiates would fast themselves in an echo of Persephone not touching a bite of Underworld food during her stay in the Underworld, according to Homer's Hymn, in truth there was no special significance in eating Underworld cuisine but it was a nice poetic touch to the story. The fact that Persephone had remained a year in the Underworld was enough to merit a Change of Domain card and a new purpose as a goddess. Not that Homer knew the _real_ reason to why Persephone returned to the surface for those six months.

On that front Zeus had been completely true to his word. When the story of the 'Titan incident' came out onto vase and crockery Persephone had been pleased to see that her husband's name had been completely wiped from the records, it was as if he had taken no part in any of it and for good measure the Titans had been replaced by 'earth-bound Giants'. There was a lot of guff and a prophesy saying that only a demi-god of incredible strength, i.e. Hercules, would be able to save the gods from a terrible fate… blah, blah, blah it was a corny but hey, what could you do about it?

* * *

All too soon it was time for the Underworld deities to pack up and return to their subterranean home and see what damage the five minions had done in their absence. This time it was Hades dictating the packing. The fiery god felt reenergized, and for once, was actually keen to get back downstairs to do his godly duty.

Demeter, who had enjoyed having all her family under one roof was both happy and sad at the same time. She'd loved spending time with her grandson and having her two children under one roof once again had been wonderful but it was definitely time for everyone to part ways, if they spent anymore than ten days in each other's company they'd probably end up arguing. Bacchus had already left that morning for Crete for the harvest celebrations there and his mother would be joining him once she'd seen her daughter and her family off. Since Hades and Thanatos would only be celebrated at Eleusis that was the only celebration Persephone would ever go to, besides she was too busy with her Underworld duties to attend every Harvest celebration.

'Take care pumpkin..' Demeter sounded enveloping her daughter into a bon-crunching hug. '-I'll see you next month for Thanatos' first birthday-' When she pulled back she blinked before adding, '-once you decide how your going to celebrate it.'

'Ah, we can do that in the Temple of Necromancy..' Hades waved his hand with a smirk.

'Are you releasing the souls again this year?' Persephone asked causing Hades to hum thoughtfully and scratch his long chin.

'Eh, sure why not?' The fiery god then shrugged carelessly. 'If we're gonna celebrate the birth of my little Tartarus raiser here we may as well do it in style..' Hades ruffled the flames of his infant son fondly causing the little godling to squeal.

'I'll get Hermes to bring you details in a scroll once we've figured everything out..' Persephone added with a smile to her mother.

'Make sure you do, it's not every day your first born turns one y'know..' Demeter sounded primly.

'Yeh, yeh we got the concept..' Hades sounded in a weary voice, the last thing he wanted was a lecture from Demeter on celebrating kids birthdays.

'Well… take care of yourselves then..' Demeter sounded smiling sadly.

'Heh, we always do Ma..' Hades responded with a smirk looping one arm round his wife and snapping his fingers so their belongs vanished back into their bedroom suite in the Underworld.

'Bye..' Persephone waved to her mother.

'_Bye_..' Thanatos mimicked his mother in a small baby voice and gave a little flailing wrist wave to his grandmother.

'Love you..' Demeter sounded as the three of them vanished in a curl of black smoke. There was a moment of brief silence before Persephone's disembodied voice sounded.

'Love you too..' Demeter smiled before sighing and vanishing in her orange tulip to go join her son on Crete.

* * *

In the Underworld both imps were counting the forms to see how many new arrivals they had accumulated over the week as the Sirens, who were acting as secretaries for them, were filing them away in the prises and correct order. They had been working non-stop for ten days now trying to get the Underworld into some kind of order for their bosses coming home and it was only in the last few hours that the chaos was beginning to see some kind of order. They weren't sure when exactly their bosses were coming home but they hoped it was soon because the stress and close quarters was really getting to all five of them.

All three Sirens and both imps swivelled around as their two bosses and their infant son appeared in the middle of the throne room.

For a very brief moment they just gawped in slack-jawed shock before realising that this wasn't a dream, their bosses were back from vacation.

The Sirens squealed happily and instantly abandoned their filing and flew over to their mistress, hugging her joyfully and giving Thanatos kisses on the cheek. The infant godling made a moaning groan of dissatisfaction and wiped his cheeks in disgust by this display of affection.

At the same moment the imps shot to Hades and seized him around the ankles of his black smoky chiton, clutching him tightly and gibbering,

'Oh my days, we thought you were never coming back..' Panic was frantic with relief at the sight of him as Pain, who was wearing a similar expression babbled,

'Never leave again… never, never, never leave again..'

'What the-?' Hades sounded bemused by this greeting before casually kicking the two imps loose and giving his wife a raised brow as she was looking slightly blown away by this enthusiastic welcome, what had gone on in their absence?

'Oy, minions..' The fiery god sounded airily with a smirk. '-what ya gonna do?'

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Heya Peeps, this chapter has been kind of difficult to write as there was a lot of information to cram into one chapter… I'm happy with the result but a lot of the original plans were cut just because it would have made the chapter waay too long._

_Ok, the nymphs Harvest Moon Festival is kind of based on a barn dance I once attended as a kid with fast paced fiddle and flute music with lots of Scottish Country Dancing (which was drummed into us in school) my favourite was a dance known as Strip the Willow which is the dance briefly described while Hades and Maia were catching up._

_The for oak-leaf wine is a nod towards the Cairn 'o' Mohor winery which is a small local place which make fruit wines as well as both Spring and Autumn oak-leaf wine, personally I prefer the Spring because it's sweeter… unfortunately it's only available in local shops here so if your ever up my way I recommend it._

_Hermes' Parentage, I kind of wanted to get that out there for everybody after D.H.L where Hermes makes a statement about not wishing to know his father I felt that I should explain it a bit more… actually haven't decided if Hermes is going to find out or how he would react to finding out that his boss is in fact his dad._

_The Temple of Necromancy (as eagle-eyed fans of Hercules and myth buffs should have picked up) has been shown a few times over both the film and series. It was the only temple of both Persephone and Hades and was fequently used as a place to speak with the dead, it conceals the main entrance to the Underworld and was the crude little temple at the top of the vase painting of the Underowrld in Hercules._

_Stay tuned…_

_Love… Ditzy X_


	10. A Creepy kinda Birthday

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**DakraixCresselia: Yup, he was but Disney called him Hercules' uncle which I couldn't understand :S… silly Disney. And I'm sure the smoking goldfish impersonation was out just for that brief moment. And yeh, I'm slowly trying to get bits of Thanatos' personality out which includes a certain intolerance to others being affectionate towards him. **_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: LoL, I'm sure your sister isn't that bad… and glad you liked Maia's description of Zeus, like Hades would respond any other way XP **_

_**Thraxbaby: Thanks hun… x**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Ten:****A Creepy kinda Birthday..**

As midnight arrived on the last night of October the deal that Hades had made with his underlings was automatically instated. The Lord of the Underworld had cleverly decided to make the deal coincide with the time that his son was born. For twenty-four hours the souls of the river Styx were free, able to once more roam the surface until Hades put on his Helmet of Darkness and pulled all his souls and minions back down underground. As the souls left the watery sanctuary they found that the Underworld was completely deserted. No Hades, no Persephone, no imps, Sirens or minions of any kind. It was a little unnerving to see the Underworld empty so the souls instantly just floated out, taking the long staircase towards the surface. As souls closed in on the Temple of Necromancy, which was the surface entrance to the Underworld, they could here music wafting back down towards them along with shrieks of laughter. It seemed little Thanatos' first birthday was well under way…

While the rest of the surface was crawling with the souls of the departed, who were either scaring mortals with their ghostly antics, hoping to get a second chance at life or just trying to find out what had happened to their living loved ones, the party in Temple of Necromancy was well underway.

The large black-stoned temple was situated on the boarder-line of the subterranean realm so despite being on the surface the temple was built on Underworld terrain. Inside the décor was as creepy and gothic as the interior of the House of Hades, with it's blue torched wall mounts and skeletal spindly structures made it was the perfect place to host a spooky jamboree. At either side of the concealed entrance to the Underworld were two huge stone likenesses of both Persephone and Hades, the two statues looked both sombre yet foreboding as if silently daring anybody to disturb their slumber.

The party was well underway as the time approached midnight. Everyone who had been issued an invite had come, more out of curiosity than anything else, to see Thanatos turn one. Hestia had provided a huge black iced cake with a large grey skull and blue writing while Nyx had whipped up some Underworld style treats for the buffet. Erebus provided just the right balance of light and shadow so that when the guests had arrived the place instantly gave off a spine-chilling vibe. Persephone had set out a few subterranean night-blossoms that glowed eerily while Hermes played some gloomy music which set the mood.

The guests who were all friends and a few family of Hades and Persephone were amazed by the sight of the temple..

'Oh, _wow_..' Psyche, who had become a close personal friend of Persephone's, beamed widely. The teal goddess could always find joy in everything. 'Isn't this place wonderful..' She sighed clasping her hands together as her boyfriend Cupid looked around unsurely.

'Err..' He sounded nervously, not wishing to admit that this place creeped him out. '-sure babe, why not?' Psyche turned to her pink-skinned boyfriend who shuddered.

'_Awww.._ Cupy don't be such a big baby..' She tittered amused clasping her hands together in an adoring fashion.

'Uh, in case you haven't noticed pookie..' Cupid gestured to his infant-like form. '-I _am_ a baby..' He then blinked and added to qualify.

'Ooh and your _so_ cute..' Psyche pinched his cheek adoringly before scooping her infant-sized boyfriend up into her arms. '-don't worry Cupy, I won't let those nasty beasties scare you..' She sounded in a soft baby voice and kissed him squarely on the lips causing a few monsters and Miseries who had been sat near them to grimace, freaked out by the sight of the slim and attractive Psyche kissing the babyish form of Cupid as his little fingers buried themselves in her hair.

'Erugh..' Panic sounded shivering a few meters away with Pain who had cocked his head at them. 'Don't stare, don't stare..' The green-skinned imp grasped his chubby pink partner and shook him roughly.

'I'm tryin' not to Panic but they ain't makin' it easy..' Pain sounded with his eyes still fixed on the odd couple. Suddenly both imps became aware that the ground around them had been cast into deep dark shadows.

'Evenin' _boys_..' A creepy cool voice sounded and both imps slowly turned their eyes upwards to see Erebus grinning down at them with a wide sinister grin on his grey shadowy lips. For a moment both imps only gawped at their boss' adoptive father before..

'_YaaahhhhhH!_' They both yelled before transforming in to chickens and fluttering away as fast as their little feathery wings could flap.

Erebus snickered amused as he watched the two chicken-imps scramble to get away from him before pulling a cigar out from the depths of his shadow, scratching a match against the rough wall and lit it. He inhaled deeply before expelling smoke everywhere.

'Spooking Lamia's boys again are we?' The amused voice of his wife sounded and Erebus turned lazily to Nyx smirking widely.

'Heh, what can I say?' The shadowy god chuckled lightly taking a large drag on his cigar. 'Those boys are so easy to scare..' The dull glowing blue light made her look even more lovely than usual, the God of Darkness wrapped his shadows around his wife then flicking his cigar butt away as they kissed and both gods melted away into the shadows of the wall.

Lamia had only smiled as she caught sight of her two boy's running away from the shadowy god but she only turned back to Echidna and smiled.

'Uh, my Miseries just aren't what they used to be..' The Mother of all Miseries sighed rolling her yellow eyes upwards.

'Tell me about it..' The Mother of all Monsters responded waving her large olive green hand. '-my family is exactly the same.. Pfft, kids today..' She snorted before deciding to change the subject. 'Oh, you must join me the next time I go to Macedonia, it has nice views and I had the most wonderful couple for dinner and their kids were just lovely..'

'Hmm..' Lamia kinked a brow intrigued. '-sounds like a scream..' She flashed her pointed teeth in a wicked smile at the Mother of all Monsters. And both Underworld women laughed with sinful glee.

Meanwhile on stage Hades too had noticed Cupid and his girlfriend kissing.

'So.. what does she see in him?' The fiery god asked his wife confused but Persephone only rolled her eyes at his words.

'I bet he says the same thing about you.' She sounded lightly but her husband didn't appear to be listening. Hades arched a brow still looking bemused by the loved-up odd couple.

'How do ya suppose that works in bed?' The fiery god swivelled around to his wife.

'_Hades_..' Persephone sounded scandalised by this.

'_Whaaat_..' Hades responded instantly.'-I'm just curious… I mean, can he even..' Hades paused and glanced down at Thanatos before leaning into his wife and uttered softly, '-_y'know_..' Persephone blinked before her mind clicked at what her husband was implying and she blushed a demure shade of pale peach.

'Uh, heh..' She sounded slightly embarrassed. '-I dunno, it's.. ah.. not something Psyche and I really discuss..' The young goddess then turned to her husband. 'Now aren't you supposed to be making an announcement..' She purred softly then picking her infant son up from the floor where he had been playing with Mr Skelton quite happily. Little Thanatos looked mildly surprised as his mother's slim fingers hoisted him up but he smiled and cuddled her as she nuzzled into him affectionately.

'Oh right..' Hades sounded, suitably distracted from Cupid and Psyche. The fiery god then flashed a leer at his beautiful wife before wrapping a smoky tendril around her shoulder and pulling both her and his son into him.

'Ladies, gentlemen and _uh_... indefinable others..' The fiery god sounded turning to the crowd of beings in the temple. Everyone turned around to the rulers of the Underworld smiling widely at them. Persephone raised a brow at her husband. '-hey, just coverin' my bases babe-' He muttered to her before continuing to address the crowd. '-welcome to the Temple of Necromancy my friends, where mortals and the macabre meet.. the wife and I would like to thank you all for comin' on behalf of my little firecracker here-' Hades gestured to his son who gurgled happily at his father's words.

'Fie-ya? Thanatos sounded hopefully to his father with a little boyish smirk of his own.

'Heh, not now kid..' Hades flashed a wide-fanged twisted leer at his son before continuing to the crowd, '-anyway, the wife and I invite you all to raise a glass to Thanatos now.' The fiery god pulled a black tray with two flutes of spiced nectar and held it out to his wife, she took one and Hades took the other making the tray vanish once more. He then raised his flute to his son in a toast.

'Happy birthday Thanatos..' He drawled with a sentimental smirk at his one year old son. The crowd all raised a glass completing the toast. Since it was now officially Thanatos' birthday the souls of the Underworld poured out from the entrance to the subterranean realm and disappeared off into the dark surface world.

'You're a whole year old baby-cakes..' Persephone sounded girlishly before kissing her son on the forehead. '-that makes you a big boy now..'

Hades grinned wickedly at the souls as they disappeared into the night, their departure could only mean one thing..

'Well, well… it seems that midnight is upon us already..' The fiery god's empty glass vanished and he clapped his hands together grinning at his minions who were all looking eager. 'Let the haunting begin..' He waved them off as all their loyal minions vanished off into the night with excitable noises and eerie laughter.

* * *

The night moved on pleasantly enough and soon Thanatos found himself face to face with another little god. Poseidon and Amphitrite had decided that since their son Proteus was now able to breathe in pure air for short periods of time they would pop in to Thanatos' birthday party for a little while. Thanatos blinked at this godling before him dressed in a dark blue chiton pinned with a small pearly shell. he had pale blue skin, deep aqua green eyes with icy blonde hair and a kind smile. In the back of his mind Thanatos could vaguely remember his afternoon with Eris so he was wary of this new intruder.

When little Proteus extended a hand to him Thanatos jerked back and flared his flames unsurely, warding off this new threat. To the golden fiery godling's surprise Proteus didn't look afraid, in fact he chortled amused by Thanatos' reaction before doing something equally amazing. His skin glowed the palest blue before his physical appearance changed and he shrank in size until there was a small pale blue frog with dark blue stripes and large aqua green eyes sat opposite the one year old godling.

'_Oh_..' Thanatos blinked in shock at the little frog in front of him, he'd seen the imps change form before but he'd never seen a god do it. His little exclamation of surprise made the four adults turn around just in time to see the small blue frog croak before transforming back into the two month old Proteus. The pale blue godling smiled happily as he saw his parents looking before gurgling proudly.

'Heh, showing off again are we Proteus?' Amphitrite sounded pleased, smiling back at her son.

'Hah, hah… that's ma boy, show these subterranean land-livers what'cher made off..' Poseidon declared amused waving his pink trident around gleefully. Hades dodged one of the prongs that came a little too close for his liking.

'Yo Po-Po, ya wanna watch were your aimin' that thing, ya almost had my eye out..' The fiery god pushed the trident away from his face as the God of the Seas turned to his brother.

'Oh, sorry Hades..' Poseidon then moved his trident away cheerfully. '-sometimes forget it's even there..' The fiery god rolled his eyes at this off-handed remark.

While their husbands were distracted the two goddess' were discussing Proteus' unusual gift.

'So he's a shape-shifter?' Persephone sounded impressed. 'I've never seen a god with that kind of gift before..'

'Yes, metomophisists are rare in gods, in fact I don't think one's been born since the Titan Age..' Amphitrite broke off trying to think of a god who could change shape at will without assistance.

'Oh wow, he is special isn't he..' Persephone sounded turning back to watch the boys, still waiting to see how Thanatos would take to his little cousin.

The fiery godling only gazed curiously at Proteus for a long moment, quietly impressed but still wary of the pale-blue-skinned godling before him. Then to everyone's surprise a small smirk curved Thanatos' lips.

'I think they like each other..' Persephone hissed as she beamed at her son widely as he noticeably relaxed and was now studying Proteus' stuffed seahorse named Binky. The two month old godling gave a gurgling laugh as he watched his older cousin make a face of disgust, deciding that he really didn't like the stuffed seahorse, and dropped it back by his side choosing to go back to Mr Skelton.

Proteus gripped the tail of Binky and waved the seahorse around with a joyful squeal causing Thanatos, who was griping Mr Skelton securely in his arms, to laugh amused by his little cousin. Suddenly Proteus began to cough and splutter causing everyone around him look on worried. Poseidon then bent forward and scooped up his son as Thanatos stood up looking concerned with big yellow eyes. Persephone then scooped him up too and the little godling clung to his mother watching with an anxious expression as little Proteus continued to cough, bringing up a slight clear mucus as he spluttered.

'I think we better get this small fry back into the ocean angelfish..' Poseidon said standing by his wife who was hushing their infant son as he gave out strangled cries of anguish.

'We'll have to organize a play date soon..' Persephone sounded with a smile, pleased that her son had finally had a friend to play with.

'That would be great..' Amphitrite beamed at the Queen of the Underworld, she too was pleased that the boys got along so well and because there was no children near Proteus' age in the sea right now she knew these play dates would help him socialise so he would not turn out like Eris. Aphrodite and Hephaestus had been forced to leave early because the bad-tempered red-skinned two year old had decided to throw the biggest hissy fit she could muster, which included hitting, screaming and laying on the floor and kicking her feet while tears streamed from her eyes. Since both of her parents were peace-lovers the spoilt little goddess got her way as usual and the Goddess of Love and the God of the Forge had left after a brief visit to wish Thanatos a happy birthday. The Goddess of Love did however invite Persephone up to her cloud to tell her all the gossip and to tell her who Hades finally picked to be Thanatos' mentor.

'-we can discuss it later.. I really need to get my little tadpole home..' Amphitrite smiled sweetly at the Goddess of Life. Persephone nodded keenly.

'Sure.' She smiled back before looking down at her son who was still watching Proteus cough. 'Say bye-bye..' She uttered to Thanatos and he smiled slightly.

'Buh-bye..' He uttered with a little wave of his free hand.

'Heh, bye-bye you flame-haired little scally-wag..' Poseidon sounded cheerfully to his nephew with an affectionate ruffle of his flames which caused them to sizzle. Thanatos pouted irritably at this, even at this early age he was as vain as his daddy about his flames.

'Hades, take care..' The two gods smiled exchanging a firm handshake.

'You too Po-Po..' The fiery god responded breaking the handshake and discreetly wiping his now salty, briny hand on his robes uttering under his breath, 'Urh, ocean deities are always so messy..'

Poseidon then wrapped an arm around his family, tapped his trident sharply on the ground and they vanished in a wave of water.

Persephone then turned to her husband and smiled widely.

'I think you better announce Thanatos' mentor soon..' She said lightly and her husband.

'Already _waay_ ahead of ya my sweet..' Hades drawled then turned back to the crowd who were all talking amongst themselves again.

'Alright people, settle down..' The crowd continued talking. '-people, err _helloooh_..' Hades flared as the crowd carried on talking then after a moment of smouldering furiously he gave a sharp whistle of irritation and the crowd silenced.

'That's better..' He said the moment all focus was on him, '-yeesh, I ain't Zeus but a little respect would be nice.' Persephone rolled her eyes at this but chose not to comment.

'As you know it's tradition to pick at least one mentor on a kid's first birthday. Someone trustworthy who can guide the kid through life yadda, yadda, yadda we all know the decree, huh?' The fiery cleared his throat. 'I'll admit I did kinda have a hard time pickin' a mentor for Than… heh, what can I say, the brat takes after me he don't trust nobody..' Hades then leant into his wife, '-excludin' you babe-' Persephone flashed her husband a girly smile. '-anyway, after givin' it some thought I did find one god that Thanatos sees on a regular basis that the kid does seem to like, a god who's clearly very fond of the brat too.. a god who, like me, is severely underestimated on Olympus, thank you Zeus..' The fiery god added the last part under his breath before pausing for dramatic effect and the crowd was poised waiting to hear the name of Thanatos' mentor.

'_Hermes!_' The fiery god gestured to the tiny blue god who'd been holding his lyre while taking a swig of nectar at the time, not expecting it to be him.

'_Whaa_-_?_' The tiny blue Messenger choked on his nectar as the lyre dropped to the ground with a thudding twang.

'Me? Seriously… you want me to mentor your kid?' Hermes responded still in a dazed shock.

'Eh, you see the brat more than anybody else..' Hades shrugged carelessly as if this was the most obvious thing in the cosmos.

'Oh wow..' Hermes sounded still in shock but pleased at the same time. '-nobody's ever picked me to be a mentor before, the whole Trickster God rep kinda scares them off..' Hermes then wiped a tear away, getting slightly emotional about his new role in Thanatos' life while the golden-flamed godling only smiled widely up at his mentor from his mommy's arms. '-I guess you really do like me, huh?' Hermes nudged Hades playfully.

'Let's not read too much into this, capeesh..' The fiery god responded dryly grateful that Hermes' nudges were nowhere near as powerful as Zeus'.

'So who is Thanatos' other mentor?' Hermes asked curiously but before either Hades or Persephone could explain that they could't think of someone else a new voice sounded from the shadowy depths of the cavernous gateway into the Underworld,

'That would be me..'

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Heya Peeps, sorry for the little delay in posting this chapter up but since the weather has been so good I've been trying to make the most of it XP_

_Hermes as Thanatos' first mentor was a no-brainer, I think everybody saw it coming but the identity of the other mentor I've had to keep a secret as they're playing an important part in the later plotline… I'll let you stew for a bit more on the subject…_

_Ok, again more myth coming out of me… the festival of the dead was known as Lemuria, in which people would exorcise or bless their house to ward of the malevolent spirits or restless dead, unfortunately for me that took place in May but since I am writing this in an attempt to tie it in with modern day celebrations, and Disney did kind of start it by making up 'Titan Smitin' Day' which is obviously meant to be some crack at Independence Day since the holiday falls at near enough the same time, I feel validated that my holiday is based on mythological fact even if it is using the same day as the Celtic holiday Samhian (the original name for Hallowe'en before Christians changed it)… y'know I'm starting to think I might be over-thinking this.._

_The Temple of Necromancy was simply known as Necromanteion 'The Oracle of Death' and I felt that since this temple belongs to Hades it should only be fair if it reflects the same gloomy sinister look as the rest of the Underworld. The temple was used to communicate with the dead but it seemed like the ideal place to hold the spooky birthday celebrations of Hades' son._

_Stay tuned peeps…_

_Love… Ditzy X_


	11. Mentor Madness

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**DakraixCresselia: Actually Proteus wasn't the only shape-shifting god but he was the most infamous one… his father Poseidon too was infamous for changing shape to seduce women as was his brother Zeus.. X**_

_**WikiSorcerer: Welcome to the Review Crew hun, actually haven't a scoob what your on about just assuming it was my comment of Disney calling Hermes Hercules' uncle… glad you agree but I've corrected the error for my fanfic XP**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: Ponder no more… the answer is here! :D**_

_**DisneyPrincess: Welcome Back hun… oooh, Disney World.. WoW, I'm super jealous, but glad you had a good holiday and are back up to speed.. X**_

_**Stella Limegood: Don't worry hun, it's not Zeus I don't think he'd even want to be Thanatos' mentor.. X**_

_**November Oradot: Proteus is to Thanatos what Milhouse is to Bart… but yeh, he's very sweet.. X**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Eleven:****Mentor Madness**

All the gods gasped as one as the owner of the voice came out of the shadows. The Fate of the Inevitable was followed by her two sisters who had the same sense of purpose that glinted in the Eye of Fate in her socket.

Hecate, who'd been invited by Persephone since she was an inhabitant of the Underworld, smirked slightly amused the appearance of these three haggard old women.

'This should be interesting..' She uttered to Demeter who happened to be standing near to her. The Goddess of Nature sighed heavily shaking her golden cornflower crown in mild despair, it seemed that like his mother before him the Fates had big plans for Thanatos..

'_You_..' Hades uttered stunned, then being the first to recover from the shock of the identity of this volunteer he scowled at the twisted sisters. '_Ohhh_, _nuh_, _nuh_, _nuh_, _nuh_, _no_… you ain't getting your wrinkly old mitts on _my_ _son!_' The fiery god snatched his one year old son out of his wife's grip and the flame-haired infant godling gave a slight squeak of shock at his daddy's erratic behaviour.

'Hades..' Persephone sounded in a slight reprimand, she too was not the biggest fan of the Fates but she knew better than most that once they had their minds set nothing would deter them.

'I told you he'd react this way..' Lachesis remarked casually to Atropos folding her arms. The shortest Fate only made a slight murmur of agreement.

'We know..' Clotho responded snidely, Lachesis was about to made a nasty retort when Hades flared a nasty shade of orange and continued with his rant.

'I don't want you three ladies _any_where near my boy!' Hades snarled angrily his flaming hair growing a foot as the god smouldered brutally. Hades then shoved his burning face right up towards the Fates.

'_Hades!_' Persephone repeated slightly more exasperated while little Thanatos just looked confused by his daddy's flare up. He'd never met these three ladies before but his father obviously didn't like them that much and it made the little godling wary, perhaps he wasn't to trust these people either..

Again Hades wasn't listening as he was already on a blazing roll.

'Although you three already _know _why I shouldn't be so freakin' surprised that you've decided to meddle in my life again..' The fiery god sounded slightly over-dramatic causing his wife to roll her green eyes. Hades made a look of mock-confusion and continued with his rant. 'What? The other gods just not _interesting_ enough for ya? That it? Huh?'

'Hades, this has nothing to do with you!' Atropos spoke firmly, her gravely voice laced with the subtle tones of anger as she frowned at the fiery god.

'_Hah! _That's a laugh and a half!' Hades then narrowed his eyes in false amusement at his eldest sister. 'Do you do stand up Atropos? Seriously, you should consider it.. the crowd will be laughing themselves to death.' Nyx and Erebus, who had rematerialized back into the room the moment the God of Darkness had sensed their eldest three girls' presence, rolled their eyes in sync complete with a weary shake of the head, a withering sigh and a stiff fold of the arms all topped off with a frown of disapproval. This was _exactly_ what it had been like constantly with these four under the same roof as children… a complete Tartarus to live with. Even now as middle-aged gods their behaviour was not much better. Both Nyx and Erebus were just grateful that they didn't live with either of them anymore. They both loved all their kids equally but they just didn't have the energy or patience to step in and settle disputes between them anymore.

'Hmm..' Hades rubbed his chin, momentarily distracted from his rant by his own words. '-can people really die from laughing?' He uttered to himself thoughtfully, mulling over this idea in his flaming cranium. 'Memo to me, memo to me.. look into that later..'

'We're not here for you, you flame-haired idiot!' Clotho snapped irritably at her adopted little brother finally losing her patience. She'd always been the Fate with the least patience, this was why she created the threads of life then passed them on to her sisters to meddle with, she just didn't have the tolerance for dealing with mortal lives..

'_Hey!_' Hades snapped flaring defensively again. 'Don't call me an idiot in my own temple, that's like the ultimate insult-'

'_Hades_..' Persephone sounded firmly grasping her husband's smouldering arm, her star-white aura glowing brightly and protecting her from being burnt. '-let's just hear them out..' Hades blinked and returned to blue before swivelling to his wife who had interrupted him. His golden eyes widened in shock at her words while Thanatos was still in his father's secure grip.

'Ya can't be serious Sephy..' Hades leaned in and hissed into his wife's ear.

'Sweetie..' The white-skinned goddess said gently. '-they've never offered to be any god's mentor before..'

'Believe me baby..' Hades drawled in a low voice. '-when these old broads wanna get involved it's never a good sign.' Persephone raised a brow at her husband.

'I know but think of the gloating prospects..' The goddess sounded in a persuasive tone causing the fiery god to kink an eyebrow intrigued by this argument.

'Gloatin' prospects?' Hades uttered with a slight smirk.

'Yes..' Persephone responded causing the three Fates to flash each other identical leers, the Queen of the Underworld could always talk her husband around. '-I mean none of Bolt Boy's kids have a Fate as a mentor…and think of the learning advantages, there's so much they could teach him..' Hades made a low noise of doubt as he thought over what his wife was saying.

'I dunno..' Hades sounded thoughtfully before his large black pupils swivelled back to the Fates. '-why do you wanna be Than's mentor?' His eyes narrowed shrewdly at Atropos.

'Like your wife said Hades, there's so much I can teach your boy..' The Fate of the Inevitable sounded in her gravely voice, complete with smug smile.

'Uh-huh..' Hades drawled looking sceptical once again.

'-things that he _needs_ to understand if he is to be successful in the future..' Her eye narrowed deviously causing the rulers of the Underworld to blink bemused by these words.

'What do you mean 'be successful in the future'?' Persephone asked as Hades flared a brief orange, he knew those sneaky sisters of destiny were plotting something.

'Oh isn't it obvious Sephy..' Hades drawled with a condescending sneer to his three adoptive sisters.'-Than isn't even potty-trained and they're already plotting how to screw up his life..' Atropos rolled the Fates' only eye in her socket with slight exasperation.

'Actually, I just want to help him..' Her tone was deadly serious as the Fate of the Inevitable folded her arms stiffly.

'_Why?_' The fiery god's eyes narrowed into slits as his body swivelled slightly, shielding Thanatos protectively from the Fates as if he thought they were going to snatch his child right out of his arms.

'We have foreseen this child's coming since the day his mother was born..' Clotho spoke solemnly.

'_What?_' Demeter's voice cried out in shock as Hermes' jaw fell open in amazement, many other gods murmured amongst themselves as both Hades and Persephone gazed at the Fates, Atropos merely turned to the Goddess of Nature who had pushed her way to the front of the crowd looking both stunned and terrified.

'I told you that both meanings of 'Persephone' were apt for your child..' She smiled eerily at the green-skinned goddess. Demeter frowned crossly and placed her hands on her hips, however before she could even think of retorting a shell-shocked Persephone spoke.

'_Wait_… you were at my birth?' The white-skinned goddess sounded confused, her mother had kept that quiet.

'No dear..' Demeter replied to her daughter. '-they _named_ you..' There was a slightly bitter edge to her voice now and if her golden-leafed corn-crown hadn't already been wilted it would have died now.

'Huh?' Hades' eyes widened in shock, he didn't even know Persephone's name had dual meanings, never mind that she had actually been given her name by the Fates themselves… this information did not ease his concerns as this only made him wonder how they had been planning for Thanatos' forthcoming.

The Nature Goddess' revelation made several gods around her gasp. Hestia, Hermes and Bacchus all looked dumbfounded by the fact that she'd managed to keep this fact quiet from the Olympian council for so long.

'You named me?' Persephone stuttered in amazement looking at Atropos who nodded with a small smirk, the white-skinned goddess then rounded on her mother looking hurt. '_Mother_… why didn't you tell me this before..' Demeter winced slightly guiltily.

'Your father and I were trying to protect you from the Fates…' The green-skinned goddess sounded gently. '-they had such a keen interest in you at such a young age, we were concerned..' She sounded and Persephone blinked in amazement.

'Y'know..' The Goddess of Life then sounded thoughtfully after a moment. '-that explains _so _much..'

'I never imagined that when they named you 'Bringer of Destruction' they were actually referring to your future son..' Demeter finished glumly.

'Whoa, whoa, whoa..' Hades sounded trying to get his head around all this new information that just seemed to be fired at him bit by bit. '-so if Sephy is 'Bringer of Destruction'-' Hades mused in a soft voice. He'd always known that 'Persephone' meant 'She of Light-Bearing Face' but this new meaning meant only one thing, the Fates had intended her name to be a heavy hint into the future. '-that would make Thanatos..' Hades twirled his wrist in an elongated manner, hoping the Fates would supply the rest.

'Death..' Clotho supplied folding her blue arms tightly across her chest.

'Doom..' Lachesis chipped in cheerfully.

'-and Destruction..' Atropos finished with an eerie smile.

'The three D's of Destiny-' Clotho added but was interrupted by her eldest sister.

'-which is why I will be mentoring Thanatos..' Atropos said. '-he needs to be schooled in the ways of Fate if he is to understand his purpose..'

'His purpose?' Persephone sounded with a slightly timid edge to her voice, almost dreading the response but already knowing it in her heart.

'God of Death..' Lachesis responded causing both Hades and Persephone to exchange a worried glance and make a low humming noise of doubt and unease.

'I guess we don't really have a choice, do we?' The young Goddess of Life uttered softly turning to her husband who frowned contemplating their only options, accept the Fates offer or refuse..

'Alright, ok, _fine_..' Hades sighed heavily then glared at the Fates, hating them for backing him into a tight corner. '-you win Atropos, you can mentor Thanatos but he's a part of the Underworld and _nothing_ you, or your sisters can do will ever change that, capeesh? He will _always_ have to answer to me..'

'Agreed..' Atropos smiled carefully, holding out her wrinkly withered hand towards Hades as if the two of them were finalizing terms on a Faustian Deal. The fiery god studied her hand warily for a moment before he too extended his large bluish-grey hand and enclosed it around hers, trying not to shudder in disgust by the feeling of her hideously aged fingers in his grip. Demeter, Hermes and Persephone all grimaced before their faces twisted in shock as a pale bluish light glowed eerily around this handshake before vanishing as Atropos and Hades let go of each other.

'You won't regret this..' Atropos sounded before all three Fates vanished into a swirling vortex. For a long moment Hades studied his own hand before looking up and uttering darkly,

'I think I already am..' Hades narrowed at the gaping darkness where the three twisted sisters had stood moments before.

* * *

Thanatos' birthday party ended not long after the Fates had left. Once all the gods had gone home Persephone put their flame-haired little godling to bed, Thanatos had been so tired that he didn't even argue he went straight to sleep as his head hit the pillow of his crib. Persephone smiled sweetly at her little baby then lent forward and kissed his cheek before ruffling his golden flames. As Persephone straightened she noticed that Mr Skelton was hanging out of the crib so she tucked the soft stuffed skeleton in beside her son, his tiny white fingers clutched him as an unconscious smile formed his lips. Persephone then sighed before vanishing in a swirl of orbs, returning to the throne room.

Hades had been pacing back and forth repeatedly with a worried look etched across every feature of his face, every so often he'd pause before running an irritable hand through his flaming hair before uttering a quiet 'oy' before pacing again.

The more Hades mulled over this new situation with the Fates the more anxious he got about it. He didn't feel comfortable with the idea of his first born son being groomed for his future 'Death' gig by those three hags. They didn't need to teach Thanatos anything, the fiery god had been 'acting God of Death' now since he'd taken command of the Underworld. Any 'on-the-job-training' Thanatos needed could be learnt from his own father.

As Hades swivelled his head around to see a swirl of orbs appeared before him, circling and forming his wife. Sighing heavily having grown weary of pacing the fiery god slumped low into his throne and Persephone perched on the armrest looking slightly concerned.

'The brat give you any trouble?' Hades sounded lightly but the white-skinned goddess shook her head.

'No… he was out like a torch.' She smirked momentarily before she looked worried once more as she studied her husband's strained features. A small smile twisted over his full blue lips before it disappeared as Hades exhaled noisily, his shoulders sagging slightly as his eyes narrowed with a downhearted glint in them.

'What's is it?' Persephone sounded softly, turning her husband's chin gently with her palm so he was now looking at her. For a moment the fiery god just looked into her wide green eyes before relenting and answering.

'I just don't like this situation with Thanatos and the Fates..' Hades frowned slightly as he thought about it. 'Why didn't I just refuse..' He pulled his chin out of his wife's hand looking slightly irritated with himself, he was Thanatos' father he could have just put his foot down and said 'no'.

'It wouldn't have made a difference sweetie..' Persephone sounded gloomily. '-they would have just found another way to get to Thanatos, at least this way we'll always be aware of what they're up to..' She smiled trying to put a positive spin on the situation. Hades mulled over his wife's words for a moment before smiling slightly.

'I suppose..' He drawled. '-but I still don't like it..' Persephone sighed slightly, leaning into her husband and resting her blonde head on his shoulder.

'I know but at least we can have some fun with them.' A wicked smirk twisted onto her lips as a girly glint of malicious glee twinkled into her eyes.

'Oh yeh?' The fiery god sounded kinking a brow intrigued by her. 'How?'

'Heh, well if Atropos wants to play mentor to our son we could always make her baby-sit him, after all Thanatos only trusts people he knows..' For a long moment Hades gazed at his wife before his own smirk twisted back onto his lips.

'Heh, _yehh_..' He drawled with the same kind of malicious amusement as his wife. '-the imps are always saying how baby-sitting Thanatos is a punishment from Tartarus..'

Thanatos, like all babies, wasn't keen on change and the golden-flamed little godling trusted few gods and even fewer minions. It had taken a long time for both imps and Sirens to gain the little godling's trust, even Hermes had had to work hard in the beginning to earn Thanatos' confidence… the only ones little Thanatos trusted completely were his parents and to a lesser extent his three grandparents. He was slowly getting used to some of his parents other acquaintances but he remained very shy and withdrawn in their presence. Neither Hades nor Persephone were particularly worried about their son's behaviour, they just assumed it was another trait of Hades' that Thanatos had inherited besides it was good for him to be slightly wary of the other gods… you could never be too careful around them.

One thing was for sure, the Fates would have to earn Thanatos' trust the same as everybody else if they wanted to be a part of his life..

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey Peeps, judging by the reviews left by readers I must have surprised a few of you with the mentor choice for Thanatos, fear not there's method behind my madness as this link with the Fates will become crucial as the story plays out…_

_Ok, definitely time to explain the reason behind Atropos being Thanatos' mentor. In Greek myth the true name for the Fates (which is the Roman name for them) is the Moirai (pronounced Mor-i), another name for Thanatos is Mors (incidentally this was the other name Hades had in mind for his son in DHL) which is the male name of the Fates, making the God of Death equal to Atropos herself, in some myths Thanatos was considered the Fates significant fourth. Moros, which is the Roman name for Thanatos, literally translates as 'Doom'… I just kind of flung 'Destruction' in there too so that he'd have some link to Persephone and there you have the 'three D's of Destiny' plus one plausible reason as to why the Fates take such an interest in Thanatos… a story idea handed to me straight out of myth, I couldn't resist.. ;p_

_The whole part with the Fates naming Persephone is taken and extended from P.o.P so I shouldn't have to repeat myself again.._

_Going to be doing a little time jumping in the next chap, this story really needs to pick up pace…_

_Stay tuned…_

_Love Ditzy X_


	12. Home Alone with Hades

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**DakraixCresselia: Heh, heh… I did tell you the Fates were coming back! And the answer to your other point is in this chapter.. Xp **_

_**Black Diamond: Heya hun, thank you very much… it's always nice to here from people who enjoy my stories though I'm not sure if 'bad-ass' is the right way to describe them but it made me smile. And nope, never seen that show… any connection between Proteus, Thanatos and that show is coincidental but glad you approve of Atropos mentoring him.. X **_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: Good, I like it when I surprise you but Thanatos' relationship with Atropos will be vital later on X**_

_**DisneyPrincess: The Fates naming Persephone was in P.o.P to explain why Demeter was so protective on her daughter and I just used the link in this story to extend on this. Thank you.. X**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Twelve:****Home Alone with Hades**

'Mommy don't go..' Little Thanatos sounded anxiously gripping the skirt of his mother's black chiton while looking up at her with wide pleading eyes. Ever since spring had started Persephone and her son went through the same thing every morning when she had to leave for her surface. Persephone sighed heavily before turning to her son and kneeling down to his level, she'd always found it hard leaving for her spring-time duties before but seeing her son so upset about her going made it worse… he was just too little to understand it all fully.

'Than.. we went over this yesterday..' She sounded gently taking his hands in hers, just as she'd done the day before that and the day before that.. '-mommy has to go, she has a very important job to do on the surface. She brings in new life, she makes the flowers bloom-'

'I hate flowas.' Thanatos interrupted with a sulky pout and a petulant fold of the arms.

'I know sweetie but believe it or not some people actually like them.' The white-skinned goddess smiled in mild amusement at her son.

'I hate them too.' Thanatos sounded moodily frowning deeper. Hades, who'd been stood behind his son watching them, let out a snort of badly repressed snickering at this causing Persephone to frown up at her husband in a 'don't encourage him' kind of way before turning back to her son.

'Thanatos..' Persephone sounded lightly. '-don't be like that..' She sighed before extending her arms to her son.'-I gotta go now, come give me a hug.' Thanatos' frown melted away as the upset little godling wrapped his small arms around his mother's neck in a big embrace.

'I wanna come too..' He sounded miserably as he lent his head on her shoulder.

'I know sweetie but you can't, I need you to stay here..' The fiery godling pulled his head back upset at his mother's soft words.

'Why?' He sounded crestfallen. Persephone didn't want to admit to him that having a little godling with the ability to kill everything he touched would be a bad thing this early on in the spring so she simply replied,

'Because daddy will get lonely if we both go..' Hades rolled his eyes at this. '-and that would make him really sad.' Persephone spoke gently causing Thanatos to turn and look up at his blue-flamed father. Hades merely sighed heavily before uttering sarcastically to himself,

'_Yehh_… now I don't feel like a total loser..' Hades and Persephone had agreed at the start of the spring that Thanatos would remain in the Underworld until summer had begun, they'd accepted that since Persephone had made the plant life immortal Thanatos would have to spend some time with his mother on the surface so that he could learn to control his 'Touch of Death' properly.

'You don't want daddy to be sad, do you?' Persephone was saying softly into her son's little pointed ear. The now eighteen month old godling twisted guiltily before turning back to his mother.

'No.' Thanatos said in a little voice to his mother. Hades smiled at his kid, secretly touched by this.

'I didn't think so..' Persephone sounded gently kissing her son on the cheek then smiling as her Thanatos wiped his cheek with the black sleeve of his under tunic. '-be good sweetie.' Persephone hugged her son once more before standing up and turning to her husband and sighing with a smile.

'See you when I get home..' Persephone sounded kissing Hades on his full blue lips and wrapping her arms around his shoulders in a loving embrace. She then released him stepping back smiling. The goddess then swirled out in a circle of white orbs.

'I love you…' Her disembodied voice sounded. '-and go easy on the imps!'

'Heh, love ya too babe.' Hades responded feigning deafness at the rest of her words as Thanatos blinked amazed trying to figure out how his mother was throwing her voice. The little godling sighed moodily again, sad that his mother was gone.

'I hate spwing..' Thanatos uttered disdainfully with a sulky pout. Hades sighed heavily at his son's words.

'Me too kid, me too..' He muttered in agreement before smirking and scooping up the little godling into his arms. 'So, what would cheer ya up short-flames?' The fiery god sounded rubbing his hands together and flashing his pointed teeth at his son.

'Flame-gwilled imps..' Thanatos responded brightly causing his father to blink surprised.

'Y'know… I was thinking more along the lines of chocolate-covered worms but-' Hades' face suddenly burst into a wide ecstatic grin. '-_yeh_.. that's a _waay_ better idea.' He sounded happily causing a miniature version of his own boyish smirk to appear on his son's lips. Hades then straightened and made a sharp whistle before bellowing,

'_PAIN… PANIC… GET IN HERE!_'

A few seconds later the imps shot into the room.

'Present and accounted for your irritableness-' The rest of Panic's words were instantly cut off as a huge wave of orange flames washed over the unsuspecting minions, followed shortly by boyish chortles of glee. Once the smoke cleared the imps emerged so badly charred that they were black crispy and their simpering expressions were stuck to their face.

Hades smirked widely as his son laughed in amusement, there was nothing better than the pain and suffering of someone else to bring him and his infant son together.

'Do it again!' Thanatos sounded eagerly and pumping his little fists excitedly, he was now stood on the chessboard where his daddy had placed him.

'On one condition..' Hades sounded seriously despite the smirk still twisted across this lips. '-your mother doesn't find out about this..'

'I won't tell..' Thanatos sounded innocently while pulling an angelic face and clasping his hands together behind his back.

'That's my boy..' Hades ruffled his flames affectionately before turning back to the imps, who had just morphed back into their usual form. The fiery god then grinned widely at his son.

'Heh, now watch this kid you'll love it..' Hades uttered before switching to orange and with a loud cry he breathed red hot fire from his mouth, scorching the imps again as they cried out in terrified surprise and anguish. Little Thanatos beamed widely then while holding his stomach he laughed in mirth at the two imps as they writhed in pain once more..

* * *

It was now mid-spring and the fiery Lord of the Underworld was glad that he had a very light work schedule because chasing after his eighteen month old son had become a full-time job. As soon as the golden-flamed godling could walk on his own two feet he ran everywhere… and Thanatos was able to match his mentor Hermes in speed. The infant godling loved running fiery rings around his parents and their minions. Little Thanatos was just like any other toddler when it came right down to bronze tacks…

'_Thanatos_…' Hades sounded in a low stern tone, frowning in disapproval at his son. '-did you do that?' The fiery god's long blue finger was pointing at a smiley face drawn on the black wall of the throne room. Thanatos blinked at the crude drawing in red crayon beside him before hiding the evidence of his misdeed behind his back.

'No..' He sounded while trying to pull an angelic look. '-he did it.' The golden-flamed godling pointed to Cerberus who was sitting with a very large bone, all three heads were growling and currently trying to wrench it out of the other's jaws.

Hades raised a brow at the three-headed mutt before turning back to his son… either Cerberus had massively grown in intelligence or _somebody_ was lying to him.

'Uh-huh..' The fiery god folded his arms and frowned down at his son. '-are you sure it wasn't you.' Hades added trying very hard not to smirk.

'No… I didn't do it..' Thanatos responded shaking his golden-flamed quiff firmly.

'Really?' Hades sounded kinking a brow. 'Then what are you hiding behind your back?'

'Nuffin..' Thanatos said a little too quickly.

'Show me your hands Than..' The fiery god said firmly and slowly his little boy brought out his right fist and opened it to reveal nothing. 'Now the other one.' Hades added in the same tone and as Thanatos slowly brought his hand out he shut both his eyes tightly as he uncurled his fist to reveal the red crayon.

'_Thanatos_..' Hades sounded in a cross tone making the infant godling wince and open his golden eyes, looking up at his father timidly. '-what have I told you about lying?' Hades' hands moved to his hips as he bent over and frowned irritably at his son.

'It's ok to lie to otha gods but ya don't lie to ya pawents..' The infant godling chanted, looked up to the ceiling while and he rocked on his feet.

'That's right..' The fiery god smiled before adding, '-and if you are going to do somethin' bad?'

'Make shu-ah you don't get caught..' Thanatos hung his head in shame.

'Ok..' Hades knelt down to his son and plucked the crayon out of his son's tiny white fingers. '-now is there anything you wanna say to daddy?'

'I'm sowy..' The little godling said in a remorseful tone.

'Alright..' Hades sounded warmly allowing himself to smile at his son. '-now don't let me catch ya writin' on the walls again, capeesh?' The fiery god embraced his son tightly before releasing him.

'Ok..' Thanatos responded smiling slightly, relieved that he wasn't in anymore trouble.

'Heh, why don'tcha go play with the imps short-stuff..' Hades' smirk widened as Thanatos' golden eyes sparkled with impish glee before he chortled in amusement and disappeared off down the corridor in a little golden-flamed blur. Hades smiled in amusement before sighing heavily and summoning a soapy sponge into his hand.

'Oy vey.. whatta mess.' The fiery god shook his head despairingly then began scrubbing the crude crayon drawing off of the throne room wall.

…Pain and Panic shot down the corridor as fast as their little legs could carry them, both imps were panting terrified as the noise of pedalling closed in on them.

'He's gaining on us..' Panic sounded anxiously grabbing Pain who was already spluttering and wheezing, not used to this amount of exercise, and dragging him down the hallway.

When the pink imp glanced back he caught a wicked gleam in Thanatos' round golden eyes, the same look that Hades had whenever he was smiting them for sport. Pain cried out in shock and he was suddenly filled with a jolt of fear and adrenalin. Soon he was dragging Panic down the hallway after him.

The hallway filled with the mischievous laughter of infant Thanatos as he chased the imps in the black pedal-chariot Hades had constructed for him. The little godling beamed as he built up momentum by pedalling harder, closing the gap between him and the imps. There were a few very sharp points on the front of the chariot that Hades called a 'minion-catcher' and they glinted eerily in the dull light of the blue torchlight.

Both imps whimpered fearfully as they both glanced back at these spikes. The both gave out on last spurt of energy and tried to run around the corner. Unfortunately for both Pain and Panic little Thanatos merely swerved the pedal-chariot and slammed them sharply into them, slamming the two of them hard into the solid grey stone wall.

'_Oooh!_' Both Pain and Panic groaned in agony as they found themselves excruciatingly constricted, wedged firmly into place.

Little Thanatos did not look remotely concerned as he lent over his black pedal chariot, jabbing both imps keenly with his fore-fingers before.

'_I got you.. I got you.. I got you.._' He declared brightly and the imps could only grimace painfully in response to being prodded sharply by their infant boss' tiny white finger.

'Ha-ha, you guys funny..' He remarked in his boyish little voice before sitting back in the driver's seat and reverse pedalling slowly, backing up the black pedal-chariot until he banged into the wall behind him. Little Thanatos jerked his flaming head on impact and blinked a few times before shaking off his confusion, causing his golden quiff of flames to flicker violently.

'Oops..' Thanatos uttered sheepishly before pedalling forward and turning the handlebars built into the driver's seat in the place of reins. The pedal chariot swerved around and carried on down the hallway as Thanatos waved cheerfully to the imps still pressed into the wall.

'Buh-bye..' He called gleefully before turning attention to where he was pedalling.

Pain and Panic glanced at each other before falling flat on their faces to the ground.

'I hate babysitting that kid..' Pain's voice was muffled as he did not even have the energy to pull himself up off the ground.

'Me too Pain..' Panic uttered sounding just as exhausted as his partner but the green imp had the minimal strength required to tilt his head to the side and smile wearily at his partner. '-me too..'

* * *

When Persephone had managed to knock off early from her surface duties the subterranean couple had ended up at Nyx and Erebus for afternoon tea with the Fates. If the Rulers of the Underworld had been hoping that Thanatos would have trust issues with his newest mentor Atropos then both Hades and Persephone was sadly mistaken. It seemed that the Fate of the Inevitable and the infant godling shared an instant understanding. It was bizarre.. neither of his parents had ever seen Thanatos take so well to a stranger before but for some reason he liked Atropos..

The golden-flamed little godling was sat on Atropos' lap as she was drinking hemlock tea and nibbling on some of her mother Nyx' home-baked Underworld cookies. Her two sisters were cooing and fussing over little Thanatos who was chewing on one of his grams' cookies with a glass of milk on the table beside him.

'Oh my stars..' Nyx exclaimed in delight and clasping her hands together in pleasure.'-everytime we see that little punum he's grown.' The Goddess of Night sounded turning and smiling at her daughter-in-law. Erebus who had been musing over his evening newscroll glanced up and smirked at his grandson.

'Heh, _yehhh_.. and he's gettin' more and more like the boy-' A large black mass of shadow gestured towards Hades. '-every time too.' The God of Shadows then smirked in amusement before adding, 'Heh, do ya remember what he was like with Eirene?' His grey shadowy brow kinked in amusement at his wife who placed a hand demurely over her violet mouth and chuckled at this.

'Who?' Persephone sounded intrigued with a small smile.

'Eirene..' Erebus responded to his daughter-in-law's question. '-she was Hades' babysitter when he was a kid.'

'Oh it was so cute..' Nyx sounded smiling gleefully. '-he had the biggest crush on her-'

'We used to tease him mercilessly for it.' Clotho added in an undertone to Persephone grinning widely.

'_Mo-om!_' Hades interrupted sharply, flaring a slight shade of irritable orange. 'We are _not_ tellin' this story..'

'Oh don't have a kanipshin.. it's a cute story.' Nyx sounded with a slight roll of her silvery eyes.

'I don't care..' Hades snapped moodily.

'C'mon bubeleh… we're having fun, don't be so antsy..' Nyx pinched her adoptive son's pale bluish-grey cheek affectionately.

'_No_, _no_, I'm not having fun..' Hades snapped moodily from his seat by his wife. '-and nobody wants to hear the story.' the three fates were fussing over baby Thanatos as the infant godling was now

'Calm down sweetie..' Persephone clutched her husband's large bluish fingers gently in her own slim white fingers. '-just let her tell the story, ok?'

'But is _soo_ embarrassing!' Hades practically wailed in frustration, pulling his fingers out of her hands and covering his face as it slowly tinted pink in embarrassment.

'I know Hades, but this is what family do when they get together..' Persephone sounded sweetly. '-they embarrass one another.' She then kissed him compassionately on his glowing pink cheek.

'_Ohhh_..' Hades groaned in dismay and Persephone stroked her husband's back sympathetically before turning to Nyx.

'So, what were you telling me about Eirene?' The Goddess of Life said while picking up her hemlock tea.

'Well when Hades was a little boy Erebus and I used to have leave him with a babysitter when we were going out for our night-time duties..' Nyx sounded perching on the arm of Persephone's seat. '-all our other kids had duties of their own by this point so we paid Themis' daughter Eirene a few drachma to watch him and everytime he knew she was coming over Hades always tried to do something to impress her.' The Goddess of Night smiled widely.

'Oh did he?' Persephone sounded in amusement, kinking an eyebrow at her husband who looked as if he'd like nothing better than to vanish on the spot.

'Tell her about the time Hades tried to woo her with a friendship bracelet.' Erebus snickered in amusement.

'I'm getting to that dear..' Nyx responded to her husband's words before turning back to her daughter-in-law. 'So anyway, she used to come around just before we left for work and from the moment she walked through the door you knew that Eros had struck Hades pretty bad… he used to go all goo-goo eyed and fumble with his words then grow pink with embarrassment whenever she spoke to him, it was so adorable to watch..'

'Oy, somebody just smite me now..' Hades sounded in a low voice, slumping his chin in the palm of his hand and glared as his mother continued to tell the story while his wife listened with rapt attention.

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Heya peeps, this chapter was a lot of fun to write as it was full of both Hades and Thanatos cuteness which I know everybody just loves to read about, the next chapter is a crucial one.._

_Just a couple of small myth notes that I feel need to be explained. The first concerns Eros and Cupid. In Greek myth there was actually two gods named Eros. The first was a brother of Erebus, Gaia, Nyx and Tartarus and was supposed to be the primordial deity of Love itself. The second was the more infamous son of Aphrodite and Hermes (yeh, I know, that's seriously messed up when you think about it in Disney Herc context) who Disney thankfully used the Roman name of… so in my story they will be separate deities despite sharing a Greek name._

_Eirene was the eldest of the Horea or Charities, three daughters of Themis and Zeus… in my story timeline she was conceived before both Hera and Hades were in existence while Zeus was a teen making Themis his childhood sweetheart and first love. The Titan War didn't begin until he and Hestia were in their mid-twenties…and since in myth she was the babysitter of Plutus who is Hades in my stories I thought it would be cute if he had a crush on her…_

_Stay tuned for more soon…_

_Love… Ditzy Xx_


	13. Curing a fiery god's Phobia

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**DakraixCresselia: I'm glad you enjoyed Than getting into trouble… according to my mum when I was little I drew a smiley face on the wall and tried to blame it on our dog Nina so that idea came directly out of my childhood X**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: Ha, ha, ha… yeh, that was my favourite part too.. I just love how he ignores his wife's request that he give the imps a break… Classic Hades at it's best XP**_

_**Black Diamond: Your welcome hun, a shout out goes to everyone who reviews… and don't worry there's plenty more Than misbehaving to come. x **_

_**DisneyPrincess: Yeh, well.. this is Hades we're on about, he has his own unique ideas on what's right and wrong… and I love Hades as a kid too, in my opinion fanfic writers don't dwell enough into his past X**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Thirteen:****Curing a Fiery God's Phobia.. **

'I can't believe you didn't tell me about you and Eirene..' Persephone giggled flashing her husband's mirrored reflection an amused smirk as she brushed her lusciously long blonde hair before fixing her thin lacy black night-chiton into a more comfortable position. They had arrived home from Nyx' and Erebus' pretty late and it had been straight to bed for an exhausted Thanatos who had fallen asleep in his daddy's arm right before the manifestation home.

'_Ahh_ c'mon, it's not that big a deal..' Hades shrugged nonchalantly as his pinned his long navy night-chiton shut, a light smirk twisted on his now weary face, having had time to recover from his earlier humiliation the fiery god had decided that Eirene wasn't worth getting embarrassed about, especially since nothing had even happened..

'She was your first crush-' Persephone swivelled around on the stool to her dresser and blinked at her husband confused.

'_Exactly_..' Hades waved his hand vaguely, cutting his wife off. '-she was just a 'crush'..' He sighed with a slight smirk of amusement before adding. '-besides it died pretty quick when _mom_ finally decided to tell me that Eirene had taken a Vow of Chastity..' The fiery god rolled his eyes ruefully at the memory as he climbed into bed, no wonder his three twisted sisters had been snickering at him.

'Oh.' Persephone blinked before pushing herself up from the dresser and crawled into bed beside her husband. Hades kinked a brow as his wife snuggled up against him resting her head on his shoulder lightly as she always did when the talked in bed.

'Anyway, there's no reason for you to dwell on it baby..' Hades smirked slightly before stretching with a yawn then kissing Persephone on the cheek. '_Geez_, I'm bushed.. think I'll call it a night..' Hades murmured then released his wife and snuggled deep into his side of the black duvet facing away from her. Persephone too gave a demure little yawn before sliding up against her husband.

'Hades..' She sounded gently, feeling sleepy almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

'Hmm..' Her husband's drowsy voice sounded, as if he'd almost been asleep.

'I've been thinking..' Persephone blinked slowly trying to stave of sleep for a moment longer.

'Uh-oh, now we're in trouble..' Hades murmured with a smirk of amusement causing Persephone to smile.

'Shut up..' She snorted into a short wave of giggling before her slim white arm slid it's dainty fingers around Hades' middle. 'I was thinking we could maybe spend the day together-' Her delicate white wrist twirled gracefully. '-y'know, just you and me. No work, no baby and no minions to worry about, whatta ya think, huh?'

'Heh, sounds fabulous babe but uh, aren't you forgetting one insty tiny nudjekin of a detail..' Hades smirked widely. '-it's _spring_.' Persephone tittered into the hand that wasn't stroking her husband's chest affectionately.

'Don't worry sweetie, I already took care of everything. Hermes is going to watch Than, mom is covering for me and the minions won't bother us..' She smiled girlishly before it twisted into an enticing pout. 'C'mon what do you say..' Hades pretended to muse over his options before a huge leer snaked across his lips and the fiery god rolled over to face his wife.

'Sephykins.. you have gotta stop temptin' me..' The long pale bluish-grey fingers of his hand stroked her petal-soft cheek, his voice vibrated with the low gushy tone that he reserved for moments when he and his wife were completely alone… nine years together and a baby hadn't changed the fiery god's feelings towards Persephone. His heart fluttered every night she returned home from her surface duties, his breath still hitched whenever she brushed him by accident and even now while she was laid next to him in bed, he felt like the luckiest god in the cosmos.

'But you like being tempted..' Persephone sounded in a low purring tone causing her husband to mock-sigh heavily and smirk, his golden eyes narrowing wickedly and continuing the teasing conversation.

'_Uhh_, I do don't I?' He sounded gently as he pulled his wife into him. 'Well in that case my sweet, I guess we're spendin' the day together..'

'Oh good..' Persephone leaned in and kissed him compassionately before turning away and snuggling down for the night. She smiled sleepily as his warm body spooned up against her, she always felt more secure in his arms. '-maybe we can work on that little issue..' She mumbled drowsily, feeling herself drift off.

Hades on the other hand snapped his eyes open as if he'd just been jolted awake.

'What issue?' He sounded slightly worried as he leaned up over her sleeping form.

'Mmm, just your aqua-soul-phobia..' Persephone mumbled faintly before her breathing deepened and the goddess was fully asleep. Hades merely gazed down at her for a long moment in disbelief… she actually wanted him to-

'_Holy Nyx.._' Hades uttered slumping back down on his side of the bed, the sudden bounce of the mattress didn't even disturb his wife's slumber. The fiery god shook his head and turned away from Persephone… the Vortex of Fire was gonna be plaguing his dreams tonight.

* * *

'Heh, I dunno if this is sucha good idea Sephy..' Hades uttered as he followed his wife rather reluctantly around the narrow path leading away from both the House of Hades and the Grove of Lethe, this restricted route was between the huge black rocky cliff and the edge of the river Styx.

'C'mon sweetie..' Persephone glanced back at her husband, raising a brow at his pathetic attempt to weasel out of this. '-you owe it to our son to beat this fear of yours once and for all..'

'I'm _fine_…' The fiery god responded airily before unintentionally glancing downwards at the small drop from the edge of the pathway into the prosperous blue waters of the soul-filled river. As Hades did, several of the floating souls passing beneath the surface of the Styx glanced back up at him. This caused the fiery god to scoot away from the edge and press himself up against the towering black rock-face behind him, his flames rippling in anxiety as he felt his chest tighten. Despite having faced some of his fear the fiery god still went into a sweat when his mind thought of actually being in the water with those slimy spirits..

Persephone, who had rolled her eyes wearily at his words, turned around to find her big bad husband pressed up against the black rocky wall behind him, his eyes wide with trepidation.

'Oh yeh…' The white-skinned goddess commented dryly with a smirk, leaning into her husband. '-your totally fine..' As she swivelled her blonde head away Hades flashed her a brief frown, then when he realised that his wife had turned the corner of the path the fiery god quickly darted after her not wanting to be alone with the souls.

'Alright, ok, I admit it.. i-it's a work in progress..' Hades sounded as he followed Persephone feeling slightly relieved as the path widened and meandered away from the edge of the Styx, heading passed a grove of deadened cypress and black poplar trees dotted with dozens of wild gloomy pink asphodel flowers.

The Queen of the Underworld rolled her almond shaped green eyes again at her husband's words, as far as she'd seen he hadn't made any _'progress' _since he'd rescued her from Hecate's grotto two weeks before Thanatos had been born.

'-ya can't just force this on me baby, I need to _ease_ into it..' The fiery god sounded in a slightly annoyed tone complete with sulky pout which would have suited his eighteen month old son.

'Hades.' Persephone stopped walking and placed her hands on her hips, using her well-practised motherly tone. '-you've been _easing_ into this for nine years..' The white-skinned goddess added as her eyes narrowed.

'Sephy, _baabe_..' Hades decided to use some of that good old-fashioned Haden schmooze to try and soften his wife. '-I'm just not sure that now's the time to be doin' this..' The fiery god sounded in his most persuasive tone complete with suave smirk.

'Hades..' Persephone tutted lightly with a smile just tweaking her cherry lips. '-now is the perfect time..' The goddess then moved up to her husband placing a dainty hand on his angular cheek. '-Thanatos is starting to imitate things we do and you know how impressionable he is… what if he picks up on this phobia of yours?' Hades blinked then grimaced guiltily as his wife stopped stroking his cheek and lowered her hand to his shoulder. 'Do you really want our son to grow up fearing the souls in the Styx?'

'No..' He responded in a soft honest voice, he would never want his kid to feel what he felt when he was around the river-dwelling souls. The fiery god then sighed heavily and rolled sideways on his feet so he now lent casually against the nearest dead tree. For a moment he studied her concerned face..

'_Uhh_, Seph, Seph, Seph..' Hades exhaled reluctantly. '-I swear by the Styx I ain't tryin' to weasel outta this… I-I'm just feeling a little..' The fiery god paused trying to think of the perfect word to describe how he felt about facing his fear.

'Nervous?' Persephone supplied.

'Oh sure, if ya wanna be all blasé about it..' Hades responded with light scorn in his voice.

'Sweetie that's natural, this is a big deal..' Persephone sounded soothingly as her hand left his shoulder and she clutched his long bluish-grey fingers comfortingly. '-but I'll be right here every step of the way.' She smiled sweetly at her husband.

'You promise?' Hades asked feeling a little better for hearing this.

'I swear by the Styx..' Persephone sounded in a soft solemn voice and smiling reassuringly at her husband. After a moment the fiery god smiled back a little unsurely but allowed his wife to guide him gently along the path as he still clutched her hand.

Persephone had decided to reintroduce her husband to the waters of the Styx further down it's course where the main Underworld river forked into it's tributary river the Acheron. There were far less souls floating through these waters, by this point most of the souls had gone to pursue their afterlives, this made it the perfect place to start. It proved to be a good idea as Hades was relatively relaxed when they arrived by the tributary of the Acheron waters. The murky waters were nowhere near as bright as the Styx but there was an ominous glow emitting from the few souls that resided in the waters depths. Although Hades knew this point in the river was less populated than the rest of the Styx and that most of it's residents were souls that had be stupefied by the waters of Lethe, this information did little to settle his nerves.

The teenage Queen of the Underworld looked out at the beautiful blue glowing waters of the Styx as it's surface remained eerily calm. She'd always found these waters so soothing to watch and the light scent of sweet asphodel and zingy fresh mint in the Underworld air added to the restful sensation.

'So..' Persephone spoke in a low breathy voice. '-have you ever been swimming in these rivers before?' She kept her back to her husband as she undid her purple flower and skull chiton pin, a gift from her husband on their first wedding anniversary, still holding the black material of her strapless dress in place as she flicked her extensive blonde wavy locks, covering her body from view.

'Oh sure..' Hades responded airily, unlike Persephone he did not feel soothed when he looked out at the Styx, he felt a huge surge of apprehension and it blinded him to the fact that his wife was stripping off in front of him. '-mom taught me to swim when I was a kid, me and her used to-' Hades broke off when his golden eyes glanced around just in time to see his wife's black chiton drop and pool on the ground at her delicate white ankles.

'Err… what are you doing?' Hades sounded confused, raising a brow as his wife stood with a serene expression while her long blonde hair was the only thing covered her. He wasn't complaining about this but he was curious as to why she was stripping off by the open banks of the Styx.

'I'm going for a swim..' Persephone responded as she flicked back her long blonde hair to reveal a tight black two-piece swim-toga. It was in a halter neck style with one of Hades' own silver skull pins holding the bust at the front. The white-skinned Goddess of Life pulled the straps taught and tied them together around her neck.

'Wa-what?' Hades sounded slightly panicked and his hair flashed a very brief yellow. 'Ya can't just leave me here..' He started but Persephone merely giggled amused.

'I'm not..' She replied lightly as she walked over to her husband, slipping her arms around his shoulders lightly. '-your coming with me.'

* * *

…_meanwhile in the House of Hades_…

'Huh-mes, Huh-mes..' Thanatos chanted excitedly as he tugged on to his favourite mentor's white chiton. '-lookie, lookie..' Once the infant golden-flamed godling had the attention of his mentor he shot off in a large whoosh of flames, running as fast as his little feet could carry him… which turned out to be pretty fast as everything around him vanished into a blur.

'Wowie..' Hermes sounded as little Thanatos shot around the chessboard so fast he was just a vast fiery ring. '-keep that up and you'll be as fast as me short-flames.'

Pain and Panic followed the little godling around with their eyes before they both fell flat on the map of Greece dizzy.

'Urh..' Panic sounded feebly. '-I think I'm gonna be sick..' He then retched, holding his hand over his mouth. Pain however shook off his own dizzy spell the leered mischievously before turning to his nauseous-looking partner.

'Panic..' He hissed causing the green imp to look up at him weary and confused. '-check this out.' The pink imp then edged slowly over to the edge of the chessboard where Thanatos was still zooming round in a golden-flamed blur.

'Hey Thanatos..' Pain sounded leaning over the edge.

'What?' Infant Thanatos asked rudely glancing up at the imp. This small reaction was all that was needed to distract Thanatos from looking where he was going, the little godling shot straight into the black wall of the throne room and his hair smoked out in shock. He didn't cry but the bald little godling did look stunned as he sat on the floor gazing up at the black wall with a 'where-did-you-come-from' expression.

Both imps snickered in amusement from the chessboard as Hermes fluttered over from his slouching position in Hades' throne, making sure the little godling was alright and not sporting a big purple bruise… Hades would roast him alive if anything happened to his boy.

'Seriously not cool guys..' Hermes scowled at the imps. '-he's just a kid, what if he got hurt?' Pain and Panic scowled at the blue-skinned Messenger God both folding there arms defensively.

'Pfft…nobody cares when we get hurt..' Panic sounded dismissively.

'Yeh..' Pain nodded his head in agreement.

'That's different, your minions and you can handle it but he's only eighteen months old..' Hermes sounded sternly flashing both imps a disapproving look. '-you can't be so rough with him.'

Little Thanatos hadn't been paying attention to the exchange of words between Hermes and the imps, he'd been distracted by trying to relight his golden-flamed quiff. Every other time it had gone out his daddy had always relit it for him, but daddy wasn't here and Thanatos wasn't really sure how to do it. He'd seen his daddy do it a few times… every time his daddy did it he screwed up his eyes real tight, clenched his fists tightly as if he were concentrating really hard on his flames. The white-skinned little godling decided to try it and see if it would work for him..

Concentrating with all his might Thanatos closed his eyes tight shut, balled his fist so tight they shook and willed the flames on his head to relight again. There was a few sparks at first and then suddenly the golden-quiff of flames billowed into life once more. The little godling smiled smugly feeling his head warm up again before getting to his feet and turning around and opening his eyes. As soon as his rounded golden eyes opened his pupils locked onto the imps and his face was instant forced into a petulant little scowl , feeling white hot annoyance fill his every being.

The imps had done that on purpose!

'_I kill you!_' Thanatos screeched at the top of his boyish little lungs, his skin and eyes burnt away in a torrent of golden flames that quickly extinguished leaving a burnt out furious skeleton behind with a pulsing black aura. Hermes was so stunned by this manifestation he couldn't even stop him as Thanatos gave a roar of fury before diving towards the imps.

Having never seen their infant boss in this form before both imps screamed out in terror with genuine dread and shot down the hallway faster than they'd ever ran before. Skeletal Thanatos gave chase and this time he didn't run he glided after the imps in a mass of black smoky shadow.

For a long dazed moment Hermes merely looked knocked for six, he'd never seen anything like this before… then quickly remembering he was supposed to be watching this skeletal baby he snapped out of his shock and shot down the corridor after them.

* * *

…_back by the Styx_…

'_Ohhh_… no, no, no.' Hades sounded irritably waving his hand in a dismissive gesture. 'Hate to bust your bubble babe but that is not happenin'..' Hades scowled and swivelled away from his wife as his blue-flamed hair flashed a bright orange.

'Oh c'mon sweetie..' Persephone purred in a pleading tone as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

'No..' Hades responded trying to ignore his wife as her fingers ran over his shoulders tantalizingly.

'Please sweetie..' Persephone continued in a breathy enticing tone. '-for me..' The fingers of one hand moved to twirl his flames as the other trailed his chest.

'Oh-no..' The fiery god jerked away from her sensual caresses. '-don't you sing your Siren-song at me woman!'

'Hades..' Persephone frowned slightly, she might be the mistress of the Sirens but she wasn't about to seduce him and then drown him in the Styx… he was immortal, what was the point in that?

'Seph, give it up..' Hades sounded with a slight smirk. '-it ain't gonna work.' Her fiery husband's smug attitude only made the goddess more determined to get him in the water so she decided to change tact. She'd already figured out that if she could get her husband comfortably standing waist deep in soul-ridden waters he'd be ready to face the souls in the Vortex of Fire.

'_Fine_..' Persephone pretended to give up and shrugged casually. '-be a coward, see if I care..' She turned away and began to walk towards the watery edge of the Styx. She only got a few paces before Hades responded to her words.

'What did you just call me?' He flared irritably.

'A coward..' Persephone responded lightly causing him to flare and switch to a very brief shade of orange. '-but it's ok sweetie, I don't mind if you're a coward.' She smirked mischievously, pleased that he had taken the bait so easily.

'Moi? A coward…' Hades repeated her words to him then disappeared in a puff of smoke and reappear directly in front of his wife in a tower of irritable flames. Persephone gasped momentarily startled. '_I am not a coward!_' He exploded, sending out a blast of flames that wiped out most of the front of dead trees in the grove, Persephone's plants were immortal so they remained unscathed.

The white-skinned Queen of the Underworld only smirk at her husband's explosion as her aura dimmed back down to normal.

'Prove it..' She replied, narrowing her eyes in mild amusement at how well this ploy was working.

'_Fine!_' Hades snapped irritably before swivelling around and stalking off towards the edge of the Styx._ As_ Hades approached the edge of the Styx he swallowed the lump in his throat and ignored the anxieties his mind was going through. He paused briefly at the watery edge and glanced back at his wife in time to see her fold her arms and raise a brow in a 'go-on-then' manner. The fiery god then cursed under his breath as he extended one smoking black chiton-covered leg and stepped into the freezing waters of the Styx.

Persephone clasped her hands together and held them up to her face looking emotional as her flame-haired husband stood ankle-deep in the river of souls. Ok, so it wasn't near any souls yet but she was so proud of him for taking the first step by himself.

'There..' Hades sounded dryly, turning to his wife with his hands outstretched in an obvious gesture at where he was standing 'Ya happy now?'

Persephone flew over to her husband and embraced him around the shoulders.

'Oh Hades..' She sounded, her voice full of pride. The goddess kissed him compassionately before adding, '-I'm so sorry but you had to take the first step by yourself..' Hades groaned inwardly, mentally kicking himself for falling for such an obvious ploy..

'So what's the next step then?' Hades asked while praying to some unknown force that this ordeal would be over soon so he could get out of the bitterly cold water. How the river goddess Styx could stand living in these freezing waters was beyond him.

'Just stay focused on me sweet-flames-' Persephone sounded gently adopting the same tactic she had used to get him into the Elysian Fields. '-and everything will be ok..' Hades glanced behind his wife, out towards the wide soul-ridden waters of the river Styx. He gulped down the large lump that had reformed in his throat before turning his pupils back to his wife. His palms felt slightly sweaty but the god merely wiped them on his black chiton before placing them on Persephone's hips and sighing heavily.

'Alright babe..' He spoke as he exhaled. 'I trust ya..'

Persephone began to lead her husband out into the water, one little baby step at a time. Every thing was fine until the goddess got knee deep, Hades being at least two feet taller than her was still only halfway up his shin, Persephone could feel how tense he was about this whole experience due to the tightening of his hands on her hips. To try and soothe him a little the white-skinned Goddess of Life began to rub his shoulders gently, she could feel the tension in his shoulders too. Hades let out a soft moan as he felt her loosen his shoulders, his fingers relaxed and he slowly began to run them over her curves. When Persephone pressed herself against him he held her in place as their lips met.

'Your doing so well..' Persephone breathed as she broke their kiss. She then pulled back and controlled not only her breathing but the excited fluttering in her chest. 'I think we should continue..'

'Heh, you're a frickin' tease baby..' Hades drawled as his eyes narrowed in amusement at his wife, she was using seduction as a tool and so far it seemed to be working.

The two gods continued with their slow wading into the waters of the Styx. They got just above Hades' hips which was mid-torso to Persephone before the fiery god's focus on his wife was distracted by something under the water.

'_Ah_..' Hades jerked his head away from his wife and down to the river. '-someone touched me.' The god uttered slightly panicked as he looked back at his wife, his fingers gripping her tightly again. Persephone rolled her eyes before turning to the waters of the Styx and glaring around at the souls in the water.

'Alright, which one of you touched him?' She sounded in a stern voice. A soul a little way downstream rose up to reply.

'It's not our fault your holding up traffic..' It responded to the Queen of the Underworld's question in a bored monotonous voice.

'_Uhh.._' Persephone sighed irritated as her hair flashed into flames and back to normal in exasperation as the soul returned to the waters and continued down it's path. She then swivelled once more to the souls heading their way. 'Just go _around_ us, ok?' She snapped slightly short-tempered with a sharp jab of her finger to emphasis her point. The souls under the water blinked at their enraged queen before obeying and instantly began to swim around them rather than through them.

'The nerve of some souls, huh?' Hades murmured softly into his wife's ear, wrapping her in his arms as he kissed her cheek. In his blind panic Hades had forgotten that he could order the souls around and seeing his wife remind him of that fact was just what he needed. Then an epiphany hit him, he didn't have to be afraid of the souls in the river because at the end of the day they had to do as he said..

'Tell me about it..' Persephone drawled as her hands enclosed around her husband's shoulders, she notice a sense of profound realisation hit her husband and something inside him changed. It was as if his initial phobia was gone. Her heart skipped a beat and not just from this new information, her husband had now curled her into his grip as his fingers caressed her hips slowly under the water.

'I'd rather not..' Hades purred in a low husky tone. Clearly the fiery god no longer had wading on his mind, his golden eyes narrowed and his blue-flamed hair creeped over his shoulders. Persephone only smiled at her husband feeling the same breathlessness as her heart pounded with love. She then lent into Hades and kissed him passionately. Her husband responded keenly and rubbed himself up against her as his fingers trailed her thigh. However just as he was getting really into it Persephone pulled away panting breathlessly, pulling herself out of her husband's grip she began smoothing her wet hair off back off of her face then she turned to wade back to shore. Predictably the fiery god extended his arm and gripped his wife's wrist turning her around.

'_Sephy_..' Hades sounded in a slight reprimand complete with a leering smirk at her. '-you know better than to start fires ya can't put out.' He purred with a slight waggle of his brows. Persephone blinked at her husband before smirking.

'Your right..' She sounded mischievously before waving her hand across the surface of the Styx causing a huge splash to rise up and drench her husband, extinguishing his blue flames. 'Problem solved..' She trilled cheerfully before quickly exiting the Styx, standing on the sludgy muddy clay banks dripping wet from head to toe. As she shook her extensive blonde hair and smirked amused at her drenched and bald-headed husband.

Hades' golden eyes narrowed as a depraved leer twisted his lips.

'Oh so ya think that's funny do ya?' He sounded kinking a brow as Persephone giggled at him from the shoreline. 'Well let's see ya laugh at this..' Instead of wading back to the shore Hades shot straight into the air in a pillar of smoke, somersaulting in the air the god relit his blue-flamed hair and then shot towards his wife. Persephone could only stare in amazement before Hades knocked her off her feet, pushing her back into the muddy banks of the Styx. Persephone gasped on impact but not because of any pain but because mud splattered everywhere covering both her and Hades. For once the clean-freak that her husband was didn't seem to care about the mud, his heavy-lidded eyes were only focused on her as his fingers worked slowly along her body, peeling off her swim-toga.

'Heh, you always manage to surprise me..' Persephone purred, leaning up to kiss her husband as he tossed the top half of her swim-toga over his shoulder, it landed on the ground with a soaking wet slap. Hades flashed his wife a wide white-fanged leer as he broke the luscious kiss.

'Hey, what can I say, when ya live in a place like this ya gotta keep things interestin'..' He responded lightly, his blue flames ripped down his body as Persephone's fingers worked on removing his chiton…

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Heya peeps, a nice long chapter I know… this chapter is really important and I couldn't afford to skimp on the details so it went on for a little longer than it was meant to.. I could have split it into two parts I know but I'm a little behind where I would have liked to be with this story which is why I've kept it as one chapter._

_There is a bit of myth in this chapter and those who've read Y.B.F can probably guess the significance of it…_

_Stay tuned…_

_Love Ditzy Xx_


	14. An Unexpected Surprise

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**DakraixCresselia: Yup.. Hades might act all tough but really he's just a big kiff.. XP **_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: Awww, your poor sister! Ha, ha… I might use it later on.. Thanks… I wouldn't worry about the imps, they get their just deserves.. X**_

_**DisneyPrincess: I know how you feel I hate both spiders and heights and I'm twenty-five… and yup, pay back is definitely a Witch! Ha, ha… X**_

_**Stella Limegood: Really? That is kind of weird… I don't really know who would voice Thanatos, his personality and similarities to Hades make it difficult to imagine an actor's voice that's perfect… but I assure you I don't imagine him with Sebastian the crab's accent XD**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Fourteen:****An Unexpected Surprise…**

When spring rolled into summer things in the Underworld began to relax as the 'summer slump' moved into effect, Hades now had nothing that could distract him from his golden-flamed son. The Lord of the Underworld had now officially said 'sayonara' to his fears of the Vortex of Fire by marching in there the day after he had been fooling around with his wife by the Styx, with a violent assertion of dominance the fiery god re-emerged with a satisfied smirk to find Pain, Panic and the Sirens gawping at him in shock. None of the minions had known anything about their mistress helping their fiery boss overcome his phobia, not that they knew about the phobia.. they'd only speculated about it, so they hadn't expected to see him appear from the entrance to the vortex as they were gathered around the chessboard sharing out the few duties there were. Hades soon nipped their slack-jawed staring in the bud by two fireballs for the boys and a ferocious flare up for the girls… all five had quickly disappeared out of sight.

This was not the only change to happen in the subterranean realm in the last few months. After coming home to find their golden-flamed infant son laughing as he tugged happily on two silvery-white life-threads that connected a spectral Pain and Panic to their unconscious bodies Hades decided that it was time to teach Thanatos about 'proper' minion torture.

It was a usual dreary summers afternoon in the Underworld and everything would have been peaceful if it wasn't for the loud explosion ringing from the large stone skull-shaped House of Hades. As per usual it was the fiery Lord of the Underworld who was the centre of this loud echoing detonation but instead of the whimpering anguish of his two inept minions the sound of childish laughter followed. Little Thanatos was on his daddy's throne getting a practical lesson in minion torture. Hades smirked at his son's snickering before turning back to the little godling in his seat.

'Y'see Thanatos, minion torture ain't about tryin' kill them..' The fiery god spoke warmly to his son as the imps blinked several times before peeling themselves off of the wall. '-it's about self expression, it's like paintin' a masterpiece it comes from in here..' Hades placed a hand over his heart. '-ya got the concept kid?' Little Thanatos blinked confused at his father's words, Hades sighed heavily then place a hand on his forehead and shook his head wearily, his son was obviously not following him.

'I wanna do it, I wanna do it!' Thanatos sounded excitedly, standing up on the throne then holding his hands up to his father making a 'grabby hands' gesture, indicating he wanted picked up.

'Heh, alright spazz take it easy..' Hades sounded scooping the golden-flamed godling up before placing him on the chessboard so he could bend comfortably down to be level with his son. Then out the corner of his eye he noticed Pain and Panic trying to sneak off.

'_Hah-tut-tut.._' Hades sounded irately as his skin flashed orange and his flames switched to white-hot. '-_where do ya think your going?_' Panic instantly started hyperventilating as he dived fearfully behind his chubby partner.

'Uh, we were just going to check the docks for new arrivals your viciousness..' Pain stuttered nervously Panic instantly poked his head up from behind his partner's vast body.

'Uh, yeh… cause it's been a while since we checked..' The green-skinned imp sounded with a simpering smile. Hades sighed exasperatedly as he pinch the bridge of his nose in badly repressed frustration.

'Ok. Two things.. _alpha_..' Hades held up on digit, still frowning despite the fact that his skin and flames returned blue. '-the Sirens are down there, I'm sure the girls can handle the _minuscule_ amount of stiffs that want to grace us with their presence and _beta_..' The fiery god flared angrily once again. '-_quit_ crying..' Panic had started blubbing at this point. '-and get _back_ in position.' The imps both stood back in their original places. Little Thanatos only smirked amused at his father who then sighed heavily and uttered under his breath,

'Oy vey, minions Than..' The fiery god rolled his eyes before leaning into his son and continuing. '-give 'em an inch and they'll walk all over ya..' His large blue hand moved in a swift fluid motion to emphasis his point before the god turned his attention to his eighteen month old son once more.

'Now when you're torturin' minions ya gotta really go with the moment, let's work on your stance ok..' Hades placed his hands on his infant son's shoulders before pushing him gently so that Thanatos was more in line with a now very tense Pain and Panic.

Both imps exchanged an anxious glance. It wasn't like they'd never been hurt by Thanatos before: minor burns, being squished into walls, hit over the head or kicked and bitten… the list was endless. But they knew that this would be different. Instead of their pain being result of rough child's play Thanatos would be intending to hurt them and perhaps more odd was the fact that his father, and their boss, would be overseeing the whole act of violence.

'Head back, shoulders loose, arms out..' Hades carried on instructing his son completely oblivious to how his two minions were psyching themselves up, the fiery god took Thanatos' tiny white wrists and moved his arms a little higher. '-that's it Than, we're goin' for the shock and awe presence… we wanna give 'em the whole booga-booga, heh, keeps 'em on their toes..' Hades' smirk widened slightly as he still held his son's wrists, preventing him from flaming the imps too soon. 'Alright, ya comfortable..'

'Yup..' Thanatos replied smiling at his father.

'Ya focused..' Hades sounded lightly.

'Yup..' Thanatos snapped his flaming head around to the imps causing both Pain and Panic to swallow hard and grasp each other for support.

'And in your own time short-flames..' Hades removed his hands from his son's wrists and Thanatos gave a very brief flick on the wrists before a small torrent of flames shot out of his palms. The golden flames shot towards the imps causing both Pain and Panic to shriek out, jump apart and cower in fear. After a brief moment of yelling the flames stopped and both pyrogods blinked surprised by what they saw standing in front of them.

Panic winked an eye open hyperventilating, still cowering in fear and completely unscathed from the flamed-attack. He slowly brought his head up and looked to the left of him to find Pain completely charred and laid on the ground next to him.

'_Pain!_' The skinny green imp cried out and knelt don beside his partner, cradling the charred imp's head in his arms. 'Speak to me!' Pain coughed up a huge cloud of smoke before flashing his partner an agonizing grin as his eyes opened a miniscule amount.

'The kid packs a punch Panic..' He wheezed before resting his head against his skinny partner's chest. A tear rolled down Panic's cheek as he grinned toothily at his chubby charred partner.

'Just like his old man..' He sniffed proudly.

Hades blinked at the imps, one badly burnt while the other was untouched. The fiery god then smirked amused before turning around to his infant son who was linking confused at the imps then glancing down at his hands looking more bemused.

'Heh, I think we need to work on your aim short-stuff..' Thanatos swivelled his flaming head up towards his father at this point. '-but one outta two minions ain't bad for a first attempt..' Hades cuffed his son affectionately as the golden-flamed infant deity beamed up at him proudly.

* * *

Unbeknown to her two pyrogods Persephone had materialized into the throne room Summer was when her rebirth duties were the focus in the Underworld and with summer-time being more her mother's season on the surface the young queen could easily flit back and forth between both duties. Persephone was perched on the edge of her husband's huge stone throne smiling at the endearing sight of her husband and her infant son whilst trying to ignore the swooping sensation in her stomach. Over the passed few days Persephone had been feeling a little queasy, since she was the first to get out of bed she had been able to hide her sickly feelings from Hades. Gods didn't succumb to mortal ailments such as Proserpina Plague or food poisoning so she wasn't worried about it being anything like that… in fact the last time the Goddess of Life could remember feeling anything like this was..

'Mommie, mommie.' The sound of her infant son's voice chirruping brought the goddess out of her thoughts. Persephone only blinked surprised as eighteen month old Thanatos jumped off the chessboard and toddled over to her excitedly. She'd only been sat there a few moments but her son had somehow known instinctively she was there.

'Didja see it… didja see..' The little godling continued excitedly. '-I got him good..' Persephone swallowed a fresh wave of nausea and forced an airy smile at her son.

'I did..' Persephone trilled girlishly as she scooped little Thanatos up into a hug.'-mommy was really impressed, your daddy must be a good teacher.' Her brilliant green eyes instantly swivelled to her husband. Hades had been trying to work out how his son instantly knew his mother was in the room, he quickly flashed his wife a leering smirk.

'Meh, I didn't have to do much, the kid's a natural..' The fiery god then blinked and then turned to the imps who were both still standing, wondering if they should just go or not… Pain was still badly charred and he had a little 'pink-eye' but other than that he was almost back to his perky self. 'Alright boys we'll call it a day and pick up where we left off tomorrow..' He then flicked his hand in a silent 'you-may-go' gesture. Both imps gave a huge sigh of relief before quickly darting out of the throne room before a mischievous little godling decided to play a 'game' with them.

Persephone rolled her eyes and shook her head at her husband's response. She wasn't a hundred percent behind her husband on these minion torture lessons. Being a goddess who was pro-life she wanted her infant son to get a balanced view. So while Hades had been teaching Thanatos the how-to of torture she and her Sirens had decided to also teach him how to value his underlings too. At first she was worried that these mixed lessons might confuse Thanatos but her sharp-minded son seemed to follow what both his parents were saying… it was ok to torture your minions but you better have a good reason for doing it.

'Hmm..' The Goddess of Life smirked as she hummed her amusement. '-just like his old man I suppose..' Thanatos was sat on his mother's knee with his large pupils flickering between his parents.

'Heh, well I don't like to fan my own flames..' The fiery god wore a self-satisfied smirk as he casually checked his own nails. '-but I'll take your word for it.' It was then that Hades looked over at Persephone and noticed that she looked a little peaky.

'_Whoa_… Sephy, your lookin' a little _schwa_..' The fiery god studied his wife's greenish tinge. '-you feelin' ok?' The young goddess sighed lightly before lifting her son off her lap and placing him on the ground at the foot of the throne.

'Thanatos..' She smiled at her son in a motherly fashion. '-why don't you go see if the imps wanna play for a little while, hmm?' Thanatos blinked at his mother before breaking into a wide boyish grin.

'I can..?' The golden-flamed little godling shook his fists excitedly before glancing at his father for confirmation that this was ok.

'Sure thing brat..' Hades winked as he drawled lightly, '-give 'em Tartarus..' Thanatos' little grin turned slightly mischievous and having heard everything he needed to hear the little godling turned around and dashed off in a little blur of golden-flames..

'I meant play _nice!_' Persephone called out after him but the sound of a small explosion from the docks of the Styx told the goddess that her son hadn't listened. She made a low murmur of disapproval at it.

'Alright, scooch over baby..' Hades, who wasn't particularly bothered about his son's antics, made a sudden swishing motion with his hands causing Persephone to shift onto the arm of the throne to let her husband flop down. The fiery god slouched back and sighed as he stretched out, his wife then slipped easily into his lap causing her husband to smirk in her direction.

'Ok Sephy, ya got my undivided attention..' Hades casually pulled out a cigar and lit it with a flame on his thumb.'-what's up toots?' The fiery god was no idiot, he knew that Persephone wouldn't have dismissed Thanatos if it wasn't something serious. Persephone twisted her fingers nervously feeling the swooping sensation in her stomach once again. This wasn't bad news as such but it definitely wasn't planned and she wasn't sure how her husband would react to it.

'Well the thing is Hades..' Persephone dithered unsurely as her husband carelessly twirled his wrist causing a tumbler of lightly spiced nectar to appear in his large blue hand, the god proceeded to take a sip… whatever he was expecting to hear it clearly wasn't what came next. '-I think I might be pregnant..'

'_Pfffft…_' Hades spat out the contents of his mouth in shock.

'_Wh-what!_' The fiery god's head snapped around to his wife as his round golden eyes widened in surprise. 'Are ya sure..?' He asked softly before necking the rest of his spiced nectar and slamming the glass on the arm of his throne causing it to vanish in a puff of smoke.

'Yeh..' Persephone responded softly. '-I'm nauseous, my powers are more sensitive and I have the same craving for worms and feta cheese I had with Thanatos..' The young goddess waited for her husband to say something but the god merely looked blown away by this news.

'But-but.. _how?_' Hades finally managed to stutter suddenly looking confused and his wife smirked at him and raised a brow in disbelief.

'Uh, you remember our afternoon by the Styx a couple of months back?' She asked and her eyes narrowed in amusement.

'Oh yeh…' Hades drawled as a perverse leer crossed his face before it switched quickly to realisation. '_Oh._' He sounded quickly understanding that this was when they must have conceived. Persephone felt suddenly uncomfortable now as she looked at her husband's worried expression… they'd never mentioned having more kids, at least nothing more concrete than a passing mention at the birth of Thanatos. The young Queen of the Underworld had never pictured Thanatos growing up as an only child, in her heart she had always hoped that he would someday have a little brother or sister to play with and even though that day was sooner than intended she felt happy inside..

'Is this a bad thing?' She finally dug out enough courage to ask the question that was eating away at her insides. Hades blinked and turned his large pupils back to his wife..

'No..' The fiery god responded as the shock of this news melted away and he suddenly felt a small thud of pleasure in his heart... there was no way this baby was unwanted. '-it's just… so _unexpected_..' Hades ran his long bluish-grey fingers through his flames causing them to ripple.

'I know..' Persephone stroked his chest tenderly. '-it'll be an adjustment but I'm sure we'll manage..'

'-and it's rotten _timing_..' Hades continued, frowning a little now as he quickly calculated roughly when the baby would be due. '-this kid is gonna arrive in the middle of the busy season..' Persephone blinked as she too quickly realised that he was right, the baby would be born mid-winter.

'I'm sure we'll work something out sweetie..' The Goddess of Life began before her husband cut her off.

'-I mean if I'm gonna have the nursery ready I'm gonna have to start workin' on it _now!_' His flaming hair flared a very brief orange with the last word before the god suddenly rose out of his throne causing Persephone to gasp in shock and slid into his vacant seat. Hades paced agitated for a few moments as his wife watched from the throne.

'I suppose I could get dad to help me fix the kid's room… but where to put it..' The fiery god paused in his relentless pacing to muse on the subject as he stroked his long chin thoughtfully with a loud, '_Hmmm_..'

'What about the room next door to us..' Persephone suggested after a moment. '-we're just using it as a guest bedroom and it's about the same size as Thanatos' room..' Hades blinked at this before smirking at his wife.

'_Yehh_…' He drawled in amusement. '-it's not like we get many folk _wantin_' to stay the night..' The fiery god began pacing again. '-and Than doesn't really _need_ half the stuff he's got in his room anymore, I could shift over the crib and build him a new bed..' Hades paused in his train of thought as his smirk widened and he waggled a finger in Persephone's direction. '-this could work, this could work..' He sounded jauntily before summoning a scroll, a protractor and a pencil then clearing some space on the chess board. 'Now all I gotta do is draw up a quick blue print and we're good to go..' Persephone tilted her head pleased by her husband's enthusiasm but looking slightly concerned.

'Uh, don't you don't want to upset Thanatos by altering his room too drastically, you know he doesn't like changes..' She sounded gently and Hades groaned as his shoulders hunched in irritation.

'_Hey_, short-stuff can like it or he can feel my _burn_..' Hades flared irritably at his wife turning a light shade of orange before turning back to his nursery layout-sketch. Persephone only shook her head and sighed heavily as she rolled her eyes.

'You can take the god out of the Underworld but you can't take the Underworld out of the god..' She mused dryly.

'Damn straight babe..' Hades responded vaguely.

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey Peeps, sorry for the delay in posting this chapter… I've actually started writing House of Twisted Toons' sequel, the first chapter should be posted soon… I've also been doing some writing for Y.B.F and should be in a little while.._

_Ok, those who have read Y.B.F will know who the next kid is and because of that they will be born in the next couple of chapters… there is a small clue in the last chapter for those who haven't read my side-fic…_

_Stay tuned…_

_Love… Ditzy Xx_


	15. It's the Terrible Two's, what'cha gonna

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**DakraixCresselia: LoL, one imp is waay better than none (I assume that's what you meant when you wrote one)… and Hades says that he acknowledges your comment but would like to state that it won't help you get a better afterlife.. I don't blame you for tryin' though.. ^_^**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: Hmmm… it doesn't look good does it hun? Oh well, it just means more flames for Hades then XP**_

_**DisneyPrincess: Yeh, Hades doesn't strike me as the type to want to play catch (unless one of the imps is the ball and the one doing the catching is Cerberus) and since minion torture is a passion of his it kind of makes sense that he'd want to share it with somebody x**_

_**Stella Limegood: Oh I know, Hades will be tearing his flames out soon XD**_

_**BlackDiamond: I don't wanna give anything away but I think this chapter will give you some hints x**_

_**OverlyHyperSuperAwesomeChick: LoL, glad your happy knowing beforehand and don't worry, knowing the baby's identity isn't going to ruin the story because there's a lot of stuff going on before and after they're born that I don't wanna give away yet. x**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Fifteen:****It's the Terrible Two's, what'cha gonna do?**

Little Thanatos was fast approaching his second birthday and like all toddlers the pint-sized fiery godling was already handful, however sudden changes in his home life seemed to unnerve him, mostly because they were adjustments that he had no control over. It was for this reason that the Underworld couple put off telling Thanatos about the new baby for as long as they could. But since Hades needed to get the new kid's nursery ready while business was quite literally dead they couldn't afford to put it off for long.

So within a week of finding out themselves both Hades and Persephone sat their little son down and gently broke the news that he was going to become a big brother. Thanatos didn't give either of his parents much of a reaction, whether he was pleased or not about getting a little brother or sister was unclear. But for the rest of the day he remained quiet and kept to himself, playing with his toys in the corner of the throne room. Hades and Persephone both breathed a sigh of relief at this, he'd reacted better than they'd expected him to so they took this as a good sign so the fiery god quickly moved onto constructing the new baby's nursery..

Everything was fine while Hades was fixing up the walls and touching up the room's décor, since both he and his wife were hoping for a girl this time they decorated the room with a little girl in mind but made it neutral enough in case they needed to change it once the baby was born.

…But everything quickly turned into chaos when the time came to put in the furniture.

Thanatos who was now twenty-two months old wasn't prepared to give up anything that was in his room, this caused many flare ups and arguments between both flaming-father and stubborn-son. But the worst one took place over the little black crib. Thanatos was almost too big for the black twisted-metal crib now, but the little godling was attached to his little bed and he didn't want to see it go.

'_C'mon_ Thanny..' Hades sounded exasperated, tugging at his almost two-year old son who was gripping onto the crib for dear life. '-ya can't sleep in that thing for eternity!' as soon as little Thanatos felt his father jerk his little body his tiny white hands gripped the metal bed as tight as he could.

'_No…!_' Little Thanatos screeched, his golden flames rippling down his little body as Hades yanked him more firmly, trying to prise him off the crib. 'It's _miiine..!_' The almost two-year old godling wailed upset causing Hades to snort with irritation making his flames billow.

'_Thanatos_..' Hades crooned gently as he buried his frustration and forced a tight smile. '-when the new brat arrives he or she is gonna be sleepin' in the crib.'

'No.. no.. no..' The little fiery godling shook his golden-flamed quiff causing it to ripple. '-_I'm_ the baby..' Thanatos threw his father a sad pitiful look with the hugest set of golden tearful eyes and a wobbly pout.

'Aww _geez_..' Hades flared in response. '-ya barely fit in the damn thing anymore!' The fiery god sounded, his impatience slowly causing his blue flames to whiten.

'But it's _mi-hi-hi-hi-hine.._' The golden-flamed infant godling sobbed, hot tears falling fast as his hair burnt brutally… he was seconds away from scorching his skin off.

'_Thanatos_..' Hades glared now as his legendary patience finally gave out, he then seized his son by the waist and the second he did Thanatos' grip automatically tightened on the bars of his crib.

'_Uh_, this.. is.. _ridiculous_..' Hades began tugging on his son who gave a strangled cry with each jerk. '-it's like… argu_ing_… with… an… _imp!_' The fiery god strained against his son, the little godling had the strength of a mortal man and because Hades didn't want to hurt Thanatos he wasn't pulling with all his might. This only caused the twenty-two month infant god to scream even louder.

'_Nuh-oh…!_' Thanatos combusted into a temper-tantrum of angry flames and burning flesh as the godling quickly became a wailng inferno of chiton-clad bones. If skeletal Thanatos could cry he would be in floods of great big tears but since his body heat was to hot for any kind of liquid the little skeleton had to make do with shrieking his head off.

'_Oh_ no..' Hades flared as his own skin turned orange. '-don'tcha start with the waterworks Thanatos! That little trick might work on your mother but I ain't buyin' it.. _Now let go of the crib!_' Hades roared his last words at his son causing the House of Hades to judder violently..

* * *

…_below them in the throne room…_

Both imps and Sirens glanced upwards as the walls and ceiling began to judder causing the twisted black, blue-flamed candelabra above the chessboard to swing dangerously. Up until this point they'd been having their own mini ping-pong doubles game to pass the dreary day away but now the abandoned eyeball rolled away as the subterranean home quaked.

'What's going on?' Panic stuttered, his breathing rapid and scared. The green imp quickly dived for cover behind the throne.

'Err… I think it's some kind of earthquake..' Pain responded clinging to the chessboard for dear life. The eldest Siren Tele on the other hand merely fluttered her feathery white wings, hovering just off the floor to stop herself from moving with the room.

'It's worse than that..' The pale blue siren narrowed her violet eyes as her pixie-like ears picked up the sound of faint voices from upstairs. '-it's the terrible two's..' She concluded causing both imps to share a confused look but both Raidne and Molpe looked scared.

'Oh no..' Both younger Siren-sisters squealed out in both sync and distress. '-not the terrible two's!'

* * *

…_meanwhile upstairs…_

'_Nrrugh_..' Thanatos strained to hold onto the crib as his father began to yank him harder.

'_Let go!_' The blue-flamed Lord of the Underworld snarled.

'_No!_' His son's little voice squealed louder.

'_I said.. Let go!_'

'_No!_'

'That's it..' Hades roared.'-no more Mr Nice-God, now.. _Get. Off!_' This time the enraged Lord of the Underworld tugged sharply on his son's hips. There was a brief bit of resistance before a sharp click then the fiery Lord of the Underworld flew backwards and both father and son extinguished in shock. Hades groaned as he sat up and rubbed his lower back where he had landed on it. It was then that he looked at his now quiet son. Despite being nothing more than a bony skeleton with a pulsing black aura Hades could tell from the way his skull was tilted that the godling was staring in amazement..

'Aye-chi-ba-ba..' The blue-flamed god gasped as his eyes widened at his child. Thanatos was still holding onto the bars of his baby crib, or at least only the top half of him was. His black aura and chiton-clad bony frame down to just his spinal cord was floating level with the bed… but his hip bones, legs and feet were in Hades' lap. The Lord of the Underworld lifted up the lower half of his son's body carefully but as he did Thanatos' shock seemed to wear off because the little godling began dry snivelling, he was clearly disturbed by the fact that his little body was now in two halves.

Hades' eyes widened in panic as his son's blubbing quickly turned into crying, although there were no tears the sound was unbearable.

'Hey, hey it's alright short-stuff..' The fiery god crooned as he quickly scooted over to his infant son. '-it's perfectly natural for gods to lose their baby legs..' Hades was lying through his teeth now as he'd never in his entire immortal life seen any god splice like Thanatos just had, but he was more interested in calming his little boy down so he could reattached his hips to his spine.

Thanatos' hollow skull sockets turned upwards to look his father in the face as he quietened but he still sniffed through his nasal cavities. When the fiery Lord of the Underworld had first discovered that Thanatos transformed into a skeleton he was slightly freaked out, but as he got used to it Hades found that he could still see glimmers of his little boy as if he were only invisible.

'Aww… c'mere Than, let's put ya back together.' His timbre sounded as if they'd done this routine a dozen times before. The Lord of the Underworld made no attempt to pry his bony son off of the crib, instead he moved towards him. Having rebuilt a few skeletal undead in his time in the Underworld the fiery god had become something of an expert at reassembling them. He quickly deduced which joint had been dislocated in the struggle and lifted his son's chiton just enough to slot the bones in place before jiggling Thanatos' hips around until a sharp click indicated that his son was back in one piece.

As soon as the little godling was whole again black smoky darkness enveloped him and when he reappeared out of it his skin and eyes were intact once more. The bald-headed god screwed up his face in concentration and relit his golden flaming quiff before blinking with those large golden eyes towards his father.

'Fan-coo daddy..' He sounded in with a sweet little smile gracing his lips.

'Ahh, heh, heh..' Hades' eyes narrowed at the cuteness of Thanatos' mispronounced words. '-think nothin' of it short-flames, now do ya wanna let go of the crib, hmm?' The fiery god sounded as he smiled hopefully at his son.

Thanatos blinked at his father and for a moment it looked as if he would relent.

'No.' His little voice said as he scowled stubbornly and his tiny white fingers clamped around the bars once more.

'_Rrrr_..' Hades' flaming hair switched yellow in frustration at his son before they returned to blue and the god merely glared at his almost two year old son. 'Ya wanna be a pain in the flames kid? Fine, then why don'tcha go irritate your mother for a while..' He then waved his hand causing Thanatos to disappear out in a circle of flames leaving him alone in his son's bedroom. Hades blinked a few times stunned by what he'd just done before he sighed irritated with himself now.

'Oy, now why didn't I just do that earlier?' He shook his blue flaming head before turning his attention to shifting the crib into the new baby's nursery.

* * *

Persephone was now five months pregnant and a neat little bump was already starting to show on her mid-drift. The young Goddess of Life had thought that being pregnant a second time might have been easier on her, after all she knew what to expect this time. But so far her pregnancy was nothing like it had been with Thanatos. By this point in her last pregnancy the queasiness and morning sickness had stopped but this time around it didn't. Even now at the halfway point of her second trimester the goddess was still throwing up in the morning and barely holding anything down until at least mid-day. This wasn't the only difference in pregnancy this time around, with Thanatos it had been all hot-flushes, scorched innards and agonizing headaches. But this time around things were fairly quiet, apart from the strange swooping feeling in her womb. She wasn't sure how to clarify the feelings inside her, the closest thing to it was like having something not quite solid inside her womb, like a ghost of a baby.

It was only in the passed couple of weeks that some strange things had started happening around her. Inanimate objects seemed to lift themselves off whatever surface they'd been sat on and float in the air, doors slammed shut, furniture scrapped across the floor. At first these things had frightened Persephone because she didn't know what was going on but she began to notice that when these things were happening there was a fluttering in her womb… all unborn deities started to develop powers in their second stage of development and clearly this was just one of the baby's tricks. The other 'gift' that the little one seemed to have inherited was also quite disturbing, animals seemed to want to avoid Persephone at all costs. Deer and horses were skittish around her and quick to run away when she got too close, dogs barked at her, cats hissed at her, even the birds in her grove stopped singing… everything in there had become eerily quiet..

Persephone didn't mind so much though, after all the pain and suffering she had gone through to bring Thanatos into the world she felt she was adequately prepared to handle anything this baby could dish out. So far this pregnancy had been a breeze in comparison to her first one.

Today the young Queen of the Underworld had been lazing around her grove with a few Elysium Entry Forms, just because she was on the surface didn't mean that her subterranean job had to suffer because of it. These forms were just a profile to keep tabs on the souls that entered her realm, this made it easier to obtain their background information should any of them choose to submit a Rebirth Application, this way she and her husband could judge fairly on whether they truly deserved a second chance at life.

Persephone's interest was drawn to one particular new arrival who was a half-nymph named Eurydice. It was a name Persephone recognised immediately, she had been raised by her mother and aunts who were forest-dryads and the goddess had seen her a few times at various bacchanals and nymph festivals. Eurydice had always come across as a free-spirit, never one to be tied down as she was always enjoying her freedom. Persephone didn't know her personally but she was sorry to see that she had died, especially since she had just gotten married. But at least the white-skinned goddess could take solace in the fact that the venom from the poisonous snake that had bit her was fast acting so she didn't have to suffer for long…

The Goddess of Life frowned at the name of Eurydice's husband… _Orpheus? It can't be the same Orpheus…_ Persephone's thoughts turned to the lyre toting teenage heartthrob. The musician and poet had never interested Persephone, his music was sappy and his legion of screaming teenage fans gave her a headache… the Fates forbid any wife of his to let him out of the house without wearing a dog collar and leash.

At this point a large billowing of flames erupted from the ground causing the goddess to jump and swivel in shock. As the flames died little Thanatos appeared in the grove his little fists curled around nothing but thin air. The twenty-two month old godling blinked confused before scowling around as he realised he was not in his bedroom anymore. His little white fingers instantly uncurled as he dropped them sullenly.

'Daddy don't play fay-ya..' Thanatos pouted moodily to himself as he folded his arms and his golden flames rippled in irritation. Persephone only rolled her wide green eyes at the sight of her almost two-year old son. Obviously the little firestarter had been annoying his father and getting in his way so Hades had decided to just dump him into her. The Goddess of Life stifled a weary sigh, she had been hoping for a little quiet time but apparently that wasn't happening now… _Gee, thanks Hades…_

At this point Thanatos slumped on the ground beside his mother who absent-mindedly reached out to ruffle his flames affectionately.

'Don't worry about your father sweetie..' She sounded warmly. '-now why don't you play with Mr Skelton while I finish my paperwork, ok?' Persephone then twirled her wrist and Thanatos' most cherished toy out of a swirl of white orbs. She then passed the stuffed skeleton to her son who took it from her before toddling off, dragging it behind him only holding it's back leg. The Goddess of Life then turned back to her forms and shuffled the sheets so that the next soul's information was on the top.

She'd barely started to read the first few details as the smell of burning bush caught her nostrils causing Persephone to swivel in the direction of her son.

'Thanatos!' The Goddess of Life sounded catching her son in the middle of burning one of her sacred pomegranate bushes. 'Stop that!' She frowned irritable and little Thanatos instantly lowered his hand causing the half burnt bush to go out and start smoking up the grove. The Queen of the Underworld had noticed that recently her son had begun to act out a little.

…_It was probably just the terrible two's kicking in.._

'That's bad..' Persephone scolded the golden-flamed little godling but his large round eyes blinked innocently at her words.

'Bad?' He repeated confused before he turned back to the half burnt bush. He raised his little white hand once more before flashing his mother a mischievous smirk and flicking his wrist causing the bush to blaze into life again..

'_Thanatos!_' Persephone repeated in a sharper tone and narrowed her frown considerably. 'Stop this nonsense _right_ _now_!' The paperwork in front of her vanished as she placed her hands on her hips showing she meant business.

…_Yup, it was definitely the terrible two's…_

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey peeps, the weather has been so shocking lately which is why I've been writing and updating loads in the last week… I hope the weather picks up soon, all this rain is getting me depressed X(_

_Ok, the baby will be born in the next couple of chapters and there's a huge clue in this chapter to what the next one is about… been looking forward to writing it for ages!_

_Stay tuned for more .._

_Love Ditzy x_


	16. He is the Musicman, comin' Down your Way

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**DakraixCresselia: Yeh, I know you were jokin' hun… if it makes you feel better Hades says anybody who writes a fic about him has automatically forfeited their soul as compensation so think yourself lucky XP**_

_**Aww, glad you tried them, I love them too!**_

_**And yeh, but that's why I love Than he's just a little kid acting out X**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: Ha-ha… yeh, thankfully they've got a whole Underworld community to help them out! X**_

_**DisneyPrincess: Oh, you don't want to know how bad it gets with a god… especially if Athena and Ares are anything to go by X**_

_**Stella Limegood: LoL, you and the Sirens better go into hiding it's gonna get a whole lot worse! X**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Sixteen:****He is the Musicman, comin' Down your Way **

She was approaching the seven month mark of her pregnancy now and Persephone's bump was really starting to swell, the pregnant goddess was convinced that she was already bigger in the bump than she'd been with her first child although Hades thought she was just paranoid. With the autumn season well underway Hades took full charge of managing the Underworld workload, including the Elysian Fields, since his pregnant wife was still suffering from morning sickness the fiery god was insistent she sit back and take it easy. The only problem was that this meant that Hades was literally gone for the whole day from morning until night, leaving his pregnant wife and two year old son alone.

The Sirens were covering for their mistress in the Elysian Fields while Demeter was busy with the bountiful harvest offerings on the surface and Hermes was flitting around dealing with last-minute errands before most of the major Olympians hid themselves away for the winter months.. And with the surface nights drawing in even Erebus and Nyx were unavailable to help her out for long. This meant that Persephone struggled on her own to juggle her active two year old son while being heavily pregnant. So much so that the now exhausted Queen of the Underworld was forced to call on her only remaining option for support…

…_Hecate_.

Hades had been less than impressed to find out that his wife had sought assistance from the witch, especially since she'd tried to destroy their lives during Persephone's first pregnancy. He didn't like that fact that Hecate seemed to be slowly worming her way into his wife's affections. No matter how many times Persephone tried to convince him that the witch had changed, the wily old god was still convinced that Hecate was only doing this so she could wheedle herself out of her contract.

Persephone on the other hand disagreed with him. In all the time she had spent trying to establish a relationship with the witch over the passed two years she had learnt a lot about Hecate. She wasn't much different from them. She too had had a rough childhood before being swept up into a war she didn't want to be a part of, then she'd been handed a realm that she really didn't want to manage, this was what had made her start resenting Hades. Persephone had found it weird to look upon her mother's friend as a servant but the longer the two of them spent together, the more Persephone viewed the witch as more of an advisor and a friend. She'd also learnt that Hecate had training as a mid-wife which just might come in handy…

It was strange to see the Goddess of Witchcraft with two year old Thanatos, especially after everything that had gone on before he was even born. The seemingly-innocent golden-flamed godling was responsible for Hecate's defeat. When his mother had been trying to channel her baby's powers to stop him from scorching her insides, her unborn son had taken advantage of this penetration and connected with his mother's psyche.. meaning that the two of their minds, powers and souls merged into one powerful being and together they had taken down Hecate and her winged-wolf minions. To this day it still unnerved Persephone that somewhere deep in his subconscious this great power lurked but she figured that by the time this powerful psychic ability began to show itself Atropos would be training Thanatos how to handle it properly.

Hecate could have easily despised Thanatos for killing her two loyal minions and being part of the reason she had landed herself with this sentence of servitude, but amazingly the witch bared no ill-will towards the two year old son of Hades. Even before she crossed the threshold of the House of Hades, by invitation for a change, she had never shown even the slightest hint of hostility towards the child and since Thanatos seemed to trust her that was good enough for Persephone..

Things were slightly weird when Hecate first started helping the young Queen of the Underworld look after Thanatos but after a few days it began to feel more like being with a friend than a servant. Hecate even managed to come up with a potion to soothe Persephone's morning sickness as well as using certain spells to rein in the two year old son of Hades' behaviour. Little Thanatos got the shock of his life when his high-speed running was impeded by a blue transparent force-field conjured by Hecate.

With Thanatos under control and Hecate helping her out whenever possible the young goddess could finally relax and enjoy the final stages of her pregnancy…

…or so she thought.

* * *

It was very early in the morning when Persephone jerked awake to the sound of a loud bang coming from the throne room below her. Having jolted upright far too quickly the goddess clamped her hand over her mouth and gave a low gassy moan feeling the bile of morning sickness rise. Darting quickly through the door to their shared en-suite bathroom just making it to the sink in time to hurl.

When Persephone resurfaced and flushed away her vomit she looked sweaty a pale-faced. Groaning the young goddess checked out her reflection before opening the bathroom cabinet and pulling out the violet coloured potion that would help her keep her breakfast down and took a mouthful, just as Hecate had instructed. As she twisted the cap back onto her potion bottle a very loud grinding noise now came from the throne room. Persephone put the bottle back in the cabinet while frowning in confusion at the floor.

'What the Tartarus..?' She murmured curiously, wondering just what her husband was up to down there. The goddess then snapped her fingers causing her husband's black and red-cuff bath robe to disappear and be replaced by her loose-fitting black halter-neck maternity chiton. She then disappeared in a swirl of white-smoky orbs to find out just what was going on downstairs.

Hades grunted as he pushed the heavy stone base of his throne into place before sighing both exhausted and relieved.

'Beautiful job Hades..' Hermes sounded beaming widely at the new extended throne the fiery god had just finished pushing into place, taking the place of his old throne in the throne room. His old one hadn't gone to waste, the parts that weren't recycled into this new throne would be saved and used for something else later on..

'Thanks..' Hades responded amiably as he admired the new throne that was big enough for him and his wife to sit side-by-side together. '-y'know I had blue-scrolls for this thing drafted just after Seph and I got married, but as you know..' The fiery god gave a jerk of his blue-flamed head to the Messenger God fluttering beside him. '-she didn't think there'd ever be a time when we'd both be needed in the throne room at the same time, did she?' Hades kinked a brow at Hermes in a highly amused manner at these words.

'Hey, come on man..' Hermes as usual jumped in to defend his best friend. '-you can't predict these things..' He paused briefly before correcting himself with a casual shrug. '-unless you're a Fate...' Unbeknown to the two gods the Queen of the Underworld had appeared in the throne room at this point. Persephone blinked in confusion at both her husband and best friend trying to make sense of what they were talking about.

'Anyway, how'd you whip that throne up so fast? I only told you I heard he was comin' your way an hour ago..' Hermes continued and it was only now that Persephone noticed the throne had been changed. It looked exactly the same as the throne that had been seated there before but this one was more like a huge stone sofa. It was large enough for both of them to sit down together. Persephone blinked not understanding why her husband would suddenly create this new throne when the old one had served them well for nine years.

'Manipulatin' stone and metal's my speciality..' Hades sounded airily waving a hand. '-it's all part and package of the whole God of Wealth gig.' The fiery god then gave a slight flick of the wrist to accentuate his mild exasperation. 'Y'know, the gig I was originally doin' before Bolt Boy dumped this Tartarian pit onto me..'

'Tartarian pit's a bit harsh don't you think?' Persephone piped up in a sultry girly voice, deciding to let her presence known to the two male deities in the room.

Immediately both Hermes and Hades whipped around to see heavily pregnant Persephone standing there with one neat eyebrow kinked in mild amusement.

'Holy Hera your as big as a chariot babe..' Hermes exclaimed taking in the size of his best friend's bump. He hadn't seen her since the Harvest Celebration almost a month and a half ago.. was it his imagination or was she already bigger in the bump than she'd been with Thanatos?

'Oh yeh?' Hades meanwhile narrowed his eyes at his wife, disregarding the tiny blue messenger's words and quickly responding to her words before her own pregnancy paranoia could be inflamed again. 'And what would you call this dank, gloomy allotment then, _my sweet_..' He circled around his wife and purred the last two words in a low husky voice by her ear, just as he always did when he was teasing her.

'Misunderstood.' Persephone responded in a soft voice, her head then swivelled sharply around to her husband. 'Just like it's ruler..' She smirked slightly before leaning in and pecking her husband on the lips causing him to flash her a wide-fanged leer.

'So..' Persephone then wandered idly into the throne room and perched herself on the right-hand side of the throne. '-who is it that's coming down this time?' She asked sweetly summoning herself a cocktail glass of worms and slowly sucking on one down demurely. Hermes pulled a repulsed face at this, it didn't matter how many times he saw her do it, he still couldn't get used to seeing Persephone eat worms..

'Ah, no one special baby, just some lyre-toting schmeil called _Orpheus.._' Hades flared at the mention of the name of their expected visitor.

'Orpheus?' Persephone blinked in confusion before suddenly tagging the name. 'You mean, the _famous_ Orpheus? He's _actually_ coming here?' Her expression conveyed complete disbelief at the situation.

'Oh great..' Hades sighed at his wife's reaction to the news. '-don't tell me you're a fan of this yutz..' He sounded while frowning slightly disappointed.

'_No_..' It was Persephone's turn to frown now. 'His music was always _waay_ too sappy for my taste..' Hades found himself sighing with relief at her words. '-I did know a few nymphs who were big fans though..' She added before looking confused. 'So why's he coming down?'

'Word on the surface is that his wife was bitten by a snake about a month ago..' Hermes instantly replied to his best friend's question.

'Oh yeh..' Persephone mused thoughtfully. '-I remember reading some paperwork on that..'

'Yeh well, apparently the guy's a mess without her..' The blue Messenger God continued quickly. '-he's been moping and wandering around pining for her..'

'So much so that the stubborn little yutz has decided to come down here and plead for her resurrection..' Hades finished in a derisive tone of disbelief as he slumped into the left-hand side of the throne beside his wife. Although the two of them could fit easily into the throne their legs touched and Hades' arm wrapped around his wife's swollen waist.

'But I don't understand, resurrection is your business… why did you have the throne extended for that?' Persephone asked confused.

'Seph, Seph, my sweet naïve little siren..' Hades crooned gently. '-aren't we forgetting who his wife is, hmm?' His brows raised at her and the pregnant goddess suddenly had a flash of memory.

'Eurydice..' She gasped in shock remembering what she'd read in her Elysium Entry Form.

'_Bingo!_' Hades responded brightly, glad his wife was finally catching up with the program. 'And since she is residing in your domain, the Elysian Fields, you will have to be present for my decision since it affects you too..' Persephone groaned in slight irritation as she swallowed another soft squishy worm.

'_Urh_..' Persephone gave a slight shudder of irritation. '-can't you just deal with him yourself?'

'Love to babe..' Hades responded airily, ignoring his wife's slight flash of temper, she was pregnant and hormonal. '-but unfortunately since Elysium isn't _technically_ under my jurisdiction I can't.. love to but can't. You know the rules..'

'Well they're stupid rules..' Persephone snorted in displeasure, folding her arms tightly. '-you're my frickin' husband, that should be enough..' She jabbed him irritably causing the fiery god to wince.

'It's not that easy hun..' Hermes sounded soothingly. '-you signed the Owner's Agreement which means that the decision to free her from Elysium falls down to you then it's up to Hades whether or not he resurrects her..'

'And I think we both know what my decision's gonna be on that front..' Hades raised his brows in slight amusement and his wife narrowed her green eyes in pleasure.

'_Ooh_..' She smirked punching his arm playfully. '-your so bad..'

'Heh, and don't you forget it sugar..' Hades responded lightly, his smirk widening at her words. Hermes only rolled his eyes with a slight shake of his head that clearly said 'what else would I expect from Underworld deities'.

'So when does this musical jerk get here then?' Persephone asked amiably and Hades shrugged casually in response, leaning over and taking a long worm out of her cocktail glass and stretching it idly in his teeth.

'Couldn't tell ya Sephykins, we just know he'll be arriving soon..' Hades replied before sucking the worm down like spaghetti.

'Uh, mortals sure like to take their sweet time, don't they?' Persephone sighed irritably.

'Yup, but I got the work-bases covered so it's just you and me until he arrives..' Hades drawled as his free hand stroked her bump tenderly.

'Who's watching Thanatos?' Persephone asked her eyes flickering between Hermes and her husband.

'The _witch_..' Hades' eyes narrowed with detest and Persephone shook her head ruefully.

'Would it kill you to call her by her name Hades?' She responded in a low tone.

'Baby it's already killin' me havin' her in my home, let's not push it, 'kay..' Hades responded with just a slight hint of annoyance.

'Well you two cats have a fun-filled afternoon, I gotta go deliver these last few memos before Big Z sends a big bolt my way..' Hermes waved the Underworld couple off before vanishing off in a blur of neon blue.

* * *

Not long after Hermes had gone a lonely figure descended the last steps from the surface and approached the jetty where Charon's boat was docked. The skeletal boatman took in living mortal that had just arrived on the wide flat rock. He had shoulder length brown hair, a simple blue chiton on and was holding a lyre in one hand. His face was slightly long and his handsome features looked weary but he seemed determined to reach his goal, whatever that was… Charon threw a bony scowl at the mortal. He hated mortals, always appearing and thinking they knew best… couldn't they read?

'Beat it mortal, only the dead may ride..' The skeletal boatman jabbed a finger at the sign on the jetty irritably. The mortal glanced over to see the sign which read:

**You must be this high.. **

**..and dead.**

'I must speak to Hades immediately, he's the only one who can help me get my wife back..' The young mortal man spoke in a soft yet well-mannered voice. This only caused Charon to raise a bony eyebrow at him clearly expressing how little he cared.

'Cry me a new river pal, we all got problems..' The skeletal boatman drawled in a dispassionate tone before settling himself down in his black gondola and pulling out his newscroll.

'But this is a matter of love and I know that your boss understands that now..' The mortal man plucked a few strings on his lyre before reciting a short poem. 'For love is like the wings of a dove, always beating but never fleeting while searching high above-'

'Alright, alright!' Charon interrupted tetchily as he threw down his newscroll. 'I'll take ya across the freakin' river if ya quit spoutin' that sentimental mush..' The skeletal boatman grumbled picking up his oar and sighing while holding out his thin hand. '-two silver drachmas, kid.'

'Oh.' The mortal man blinked in amazement. 'I don't think I have that, would you accept a song of your choice as payment?' Charon scowled now as his hand retracted instantly.

'Whadda ya think this is? _A_ _freakin_' _charity_?' The skeletal boatman glared hard at the mortal. 'No pay, no way..' He waved his free hand to emphasis his point before it went to his bony hip in annoyance.

'Alright, ok, well how about..' The mortal man sifted through his pocket and pulled out a small amount of coins. '-one silver drachma and three bronze ones?' He held out the coins and Charon swiped them out of his hand.

'Fine.' He responded grouchily before adding as an after-thought. '-but I want the song as well.'

'Whatever you say man, that's cool..' The mortal man hopped down and took his seat in the boat before strumming his lyre as Charon cast off from the side. 'So what'll it be mon capitan?'

'Do ya know 'row, row, row your boat'?' Charon asked him in a slightly gravely voice.

'Uh, yeh.. I've heard of it..' The mortal man replied, privately thinking that this was a bizarre and slightly easy choice.

'Then play that..' Charon responded and not being one to argue the mortal man began strumming the tune as they floated down the Styx…

* * *

'_Urh_.. this is just… it's just… _embarrassing!_' Hades snarled orange in frustration as he watched Cerberus' three heads droop and his large body fall limp, the huge mutt then gave a loud rumbling snore as he hit the Underworld ground.

What? What is it?' Persephone blinked looking confused, all she'd heard was Cerberus growling followed by some soft lyre-music and something that sounded like snoring.

'He's asleep _on the job!_' Hades spluttered, practically choking on his own fury. 'What _friggin_' use is a guard dog if he's _asleep! _Aye-yi-yi, I'm practically tearin' my flames out here!' The fiery god declared as he tugged at his red hot orange flames.

'Oh sweetie, settle down..' The heavily pregnant goddess heaved herself out of her side of the large throne, moved sluggishly over to her husband and wrapped her slim white arms around his shoulders while pushing her large baby bump into him, letting him feel the strange fluid-like movements of their baby. Hades sighed heavily returning slowly to blue and stroked his wife's bump feeling a soft lump as the baby seemed to swoosh around inside it's mother.

'Doesn't this kid ever kick?' Hades sounded slightly confused as his golden eyes rolled down to her swollen abdomen.

'No, but after what I went through with Thanatos this is kind of a blessing..' Persephone responded in a soft tired voice, leaning into her husband and resting her head on his shoulder.

'Amen..' Hades drawled, remembering vividly how much pain his wife had gone through with her first pregnancy. He stroked her golden hair leaning his head against hers, for a few moments they remained this way enjoying the intimacy shared with a simple hug before Persephone lifted her head slightly.

'Sweetie, I think my feet are starting to swell..' The pregnant goddess sounded gently, being stood for so long was starting to take it's toll on her.

'Oh geez..' Hades instantly pulled back and scooped his wife up into his arms gently, her bump resting comfortably against his stomach as he cradled her in his arms. '-c'mon baby.. let's getcha settled down on the throne, that Orphi-_yutz_ should be here soon anyway..' The fiery god sounded as he carried her over to their new extended throne and placed her down on her side of the throne gently. As he settled himself down on his side the goddess kicked off her black pumps and sighed pleasantly letting her feet breathe as she wriggled her black nail-painted toes.

The two of them had barely settled themselves down before both imps appeared through the door of the stairwell to the Styx docks.

'Your flamefulness, Orpheus is here to see you..' Panic sounded.

'At first we didn't believe it was the same guy, but when he knocked Cerberus asleep just by playing his lyre we knew it was him..' Pain added causing Hades to flare irritably.

'Boy his playing has really improved in the last ten years..' Panic said conversationally.

'I know, I wouldn't mind goin' to one of his concerts now..' Pain sounded with a smile causing Panic to nod eagerly.

'Err, helloooh..' The cool irritable voice of Hades interrupted both imps at this point causing them to turn back to their two rulers. '-you little yutzes just gonna stand there yakkin' all day or are ya gonna show our guest inside?' Hades frowned at them both as his pregnant wife merely raised a brow at them.

'We'll…' Panic flashed his irritable boss a simpering grin. '-just show him in..' Hades' frown melted into a sarcastically cheerful smirk.

'Oh would you? That would be _juuust_… peachy.' Hades sounded in a falsely bright and breezy tone as a diabolical smirk crossed his full blue lips. Both imps threw simpering grins before backing away then tripping over each other in their haste to go and fetch Orpheus.

'Oy vey..' Hades drawled in exasperation running his long bluish-grey fingers through his blue-flames. '-one day those two are really gonna drive me mushuga.. I can just see it..'

'Well ya didn't have to be a Fate to figure that out sweetie..' Persephone responded dryly, narrowing her eyes at him.

'Shh-shh..' Hades sounded placing a long finger over her plump cherry coloured lips. '-the Orphi-yutz is comin'..' The fiery god silenced his wife as footsteps sounded from the stairwell. Hades rubbed his hands evilly as the shadow of Orpheus appeared in the doorway.

'_Showtime_..' He sounded cruelly flashing his wife his smirk..

'Go get him sweet-flames..' Persephone responded with a smirk back.

* * *

'Orpheus, _babe_… welcome back to the doom and gloom..' Hades sounded cheerfully. '-betcha've been _dyin_' to return after the rousing performance ya gave last time..'

'Hardly Hades..' Orpheus sounded firmly as he folded his arms tightly. '-you weren't going to let me leave, remember?' The fiery god smirked widely.

'Of course not Orphi…' Hades responded airily. '-you were in the Underworld, once your in my domain you're my fair game..' He drawled, his golden eyes narrowing at the mortal man as Persephone absent-mindedly entwined her fingers with his.

'Hey!' Orpheus responded hotly. 'I was only down here because you and your two idiotic side-kicks abducted me!'

'Now, now… let's not get into a who abducted who argument, it's all water under the bridge, ain't it?' The fiery god's face softened and he flashed the mortal man before him a friendlier version of his smirk. Orpheus didn't look like he was quite as ready to forget the whole experience just yet.

'Of course it is..' The mortal man sounded in a low monotonous voice.

'_Good_..' Hades decided to disregard Orpheus' chilly response and cut right to the chase. 'So..' The fiery god sounded in a business like tone, pulling out a cigar and lighting it with his thumb. When he took a relaxed drag and exhaled he made sure not to blow it in his wife's direction.

'-what brings ya down to our end of the cosmos then?' Orpheus blinked at his words then raised an eyebrow at the fiery god in a disbelieving manner.

'Like you don't already know?' The mortal man responded in a slightly condescending tone, he knew Hades well enough to know the god would not permit him to enter his realm without first finding out why he was coming.

'Humour me..' The fiery god sounded with a cool sharp-fanged smile that did little to unnerve the young mortal man before him.

'Fine, ok..' Orpheus shrugged in a 'why-the-Tartarus-not' manner. He then lifted his lyre up and was about to strum a slow ballad-like tune, conveying through song the tragic tale of his lovely wife but a long bluish-grey smoky tendril reached over and wrenched the musical instrument out of his arms, twanging the strings brutally.

'With_out _the lyre if ya don't mind..' The fiery god's arm resolidified with Orpheus' musical instrument in his grasp.

'Well, my wife was everything to me..' Orpheus sounded in his soft well-mannered voice. '-she was my muse, my laughter, my very soul, but now she's gone..' Persephone straightened a little now as Orpheus' face looked saddened by this fact and she felt her heartstrings pull a little, she was able to relate to this after loosing someone she loved dearly too. Hades on the other hand looked unmoved by the mortal's plight as he rested his long chin in his palm, his eyes narrowed at Orpheus waiting for him to finish his plea.

'She's gone..' He repeated more for himself than for the deities in front of him, as if just accepting she was dead. '-and, to be honest… I don't know what to do, it's like, part of me died with her, I've tried to live without her but I _can't_… I just feel so empty inside… so I come to you-' Orpheus stretched out his arms in a pleading manner as if he were about to prostrate himself in front of Hades.

The fiery god kinked a brow intrigued now as the mortal poured his heart out to him.

'-oh great Lord of the Underworld-' Orpheus continued. '-in the hopes that you could find it in your heart to resurrect my sweet Eurydice and allow us a chance of happiness together.'

'Oh…' Persephone uttered softly, wiping away a tear at the heart-felt plea of this deep and loving mortal-man. She was touched by his words, being a pregnant goddess made her more receptive and able to see the deep level of devotion that he must have for his half-nymph wife… she was a lucky girl.

'Yeh, well, that's all very touching..' Hades' voice cut in to the silence with a cool and distant tone causing his wife to turn and gaze at her husband, seeing he wasn't even affected in the slightest by Orpheus' words. '-but death happens for a reason bub, that's the curse of bein' mortal.. your born.. ya live.. then one day, ba-boom, your dead, 'kay? Ya can't just come down here cause your little wifey died and kvetch to me, that's not how this works..' Hades jabbed a pale blue finger on the arm of his side of the throne in irritation. '-ya morn, ya get over it and then ya move on, ya got the concept?' Hades flared briefly as he sat forward a little with the fingers from both hands together in a pyramid just below his bottom lip.

'I guess so..' Orpheus sounded morosely and hanging his head sadly at the fiery god's reprimand.

'Look..' Hades sounded softly. '-ya gotta see this from my view, I mean what kinda Lord of the Dead would I be if I did this kinda thing with every soul..'

'You wouldn't have to do it with _every_ soul..' Persephone's soft and girly voice cut into her husband's words causing Hades' blue-flamed head to snap around to his wife in shock. Orpheus too lifted his head in surprise and gazed in disbelief at the Queen of the Underworld, was she really coming to his aid? Persephone only had eyes for her husband as she threw the stunned fiery god a warm and purposeful look.

'You could do it just this once..' The white-skinned goddess sounded gently as she smiled at her husband. Hades' rounded golden eyes widened in further shock at her words… she really wanted to give Orphi-yutz a chance?

'But Sephy, bubeleh…' Hades suddenly turned on the schmooze in the hope of being able to charm his wife but the goddess only lent into him, clutching his chiton and pushing her swollen pregnancy bump towards him.

'Oh please sweetie, do it for me..' She purred in an enticing tone. '-and the baby..' As Persephone pressed her bump further against her husband he felt a surge of movement sweep by his abdomen as their unborn baby moved.

'_Urh_..' Hades sighed with exasperation at his wife's persistence. '-alright, _fiine_…' The fiery god flared yellow in very brief annoyance before running his fingers through his flames causing them to return blue. 'I'll give him a _chance _to win her back..' A girlish smile curved his wife's cherry coloured lips at these words. Orpheus remained stood where he was trying to swallow the excitement he felt from this small victory..

'Ok..' Hades drawled getting to his feet and circling Orpheus. '-here's how this works, you'll leave the Underworld right now..' Hades gestured to the way Orpheus had come in. '-Eurydice will follow _but_.. now here's the part where it get's interestin', ok.. ya can't look back.' Hades' words made Persephone blink in amazement.

'I can't look back?' Orpheus repeated looking both bewildered and distrusting.

'That's right..' Hades' eyes narrowed deviously. '-think on it as a _cruel irony_..' The fiery god smirked for a moment enjoying the effect his words had on Orpheus. '-_if _you make it to the surface without looking behind you once the Eurydice will be resurrected and you two can kiss, schmooze then waltz off happy… _however_, if you do look back Eurydice will be hauled back into the depths of the Underworld and you'll _never_ see her again..'

There was a deathly silence that followed these words as Orpheus mulled over the gods words and Persephone gawped at her husband completely stunned by his proposal.

'How do I know your on the level..' The mortal man sounded suspiciously.

'Your just gonna have to trust me..' Hades drawled before extending a large bluish-grey hand out to Orpheus. '-now have we gotta deal?' He studied the fiery god's out-stretched hand for a moment before accepting it causing a blue light to swirl around there wrists. When the handshake was broken the light disappeared and Orpheus staggered backwards.

'You'll feel just a little queasy, it's kinda natural so I'll give you a moment to get your bearings..' Hades drawled casually as the mortal man found his footing. Once the room stopped spinning The fiery god raised his brows at Orpheus. 'What are ya still doin' here? Go and your wife will follow..' Orpheus didn't need to be told twice, he instantly turned on his heel and disappeared. Hades chuckled in amusement before turning to find his wife scowling in disapproval.

'I hope you know what your doing..' She responded before vanishing in a swirl of smoky white orbs to go and free Eurydice from the Elysian Fields.

'Don't worry my sweet..' Hades' features darkened considerably. '-I know _exactly_ what I'm doing..' He then straightened and bellowed,

'_Pain!_'

'_Panic!_'

Instantly the two imps appeared in the room and found themselves swept up into their bosses smoky tendrils.

'Whatever it takes..' The fiery god sounded in a low venomous voice. '-I want you to make sure that he looks back..'

* * *

_**Little Notes:**_

_Hey Peeps… the chapter title is a play on the 'I am the Musicman' song.. I just thought since this was a chapter about Orpheus it was appropriate XP_

_Ok, hands up, admit it… who missed evil Hades?_

_I know I did! OMG, I've been looking forward to writing this chapter for so long that I just couldn't resist filling in as many details of the myth that I could get my hands on. This is the longest and (in my opinion) the best chapter I have ever written! It only took three days to write and edit because I was completely gripped by my own storyline!_

_There was only one other fic in the Hercules section that wrote anything on the Orpheus myth so this left the playing field wiiide open for details so I took full advantage and am proud to say that apart from a few small twists here and there I was able to keep the myth the same… actually haven't decided if I'm going to write about Pain and Panic trying to stop Orpheus or skip ahead to the next part of the story… I guess I'll just wait and see what the fans think, huh?_

_Until next time…_

_Love Ditzy X_


	17. A whole new Plight for Persephone

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**DakraixCresselia: Urh, dragons? I have no clue what your on about… this myth is taken from the poet Orpheus' infamous tale about his trip into the Underworld to reclaim his wife. And as for Hades' comment on being driven mushuga.. I think we all saw it coming long before he did x**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: I don't think we'd ever see a fully domesticated Hades… that image just scares me waay too much… he might have 'settled down' but this god's too volatile to ever truly be happy playing the family man X**_

_**DisneyPrincess: Hecate's role in the story will become more clear very soon and don't worry, there will be more evil Hades as this story unfolds, he is definitely not going to be the hero in this fic X**_

_**ChaosAngel4us: Glad you are enjoying the story hun, I think you'd expect Hades to soften around his wife but as you may have noticed over the fics, his villainous side does crop back into the frame proving that he's still got it despite being married X**_

_**BlackDiamond: He has kind of gone a little soft, with everything that has happened to him you kind of can't blame him… but it's nice to know that somewhere underneath all that mush his villainous side still exists, although that was merely just a taster for what comes later on in this fic X **_

_**Amy: Yup, I definitely missed evil Hades and evil Pain and Panic too… X**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Seventeen:A whole new Plight for Persephone**

For once Pain and Panic managed to pull off their bosses orders perfectly and just in the nick of time too. Orpheus had been close to the surface, so close that the breeze and fresh air was wafting down the long stairwell that led upwards to the Temple of Necromancy. He was so close and his ghostly wife floated silently behind him, her eyes shut and her head hanging low with her hair shielding her face.

Their plan?

To fill Orpheus' head with misgivings about the whole deal with Hades… but without either Neurosis or Doubt to help them out there was only one way they could achieve this.

Panic.

The green imp was gifted at being able to inject a sense of dread into mortals, with a name like his he should be, but it was his own nerves and a certain sense of low esteem that was his downfall.

'C'mon Panic..' Pain hissed to his green partner who was shaking like a leaf. '-you can scare this guy, he's a push-over.. all ya gotta do is fill his head with what he's terrified of most.'

'Your right..' Panic sounded puffing up his chest trying to be brave. '-I can do this, I can..' He paused then deflated. '-I can't, I mean… what if this plan doesn't work?' He glanced nervously at his partner.

'Then we're both gonna be roasted marshmallows..' Pain sounded loosing patience with his twitchy green partner and shoving him out of the bush they'd been hiding in. It was just up the path from where Orpheus was coming.

Panic instantly turned invisible and waited for the musically-gifted mortal to pass. Once he did the invisible imp the skulked behind him, flapped his wings and fluttered along beside his head. Panic then cleared his throat as quietly as he could before whispering into Orpheus' ear in a voice that was a tone-duplicate of the mortal's own.

'_Is she really there…'_

Orpheus, who was unaware that he was being influenced by one of Hades' right-hand imps, blinked but carried on determined to reach his goal.

'_Hades is just fooling you… She's not coming back with you…'_

The mortal stopped walking now as he considered Panic's words as if it really was a voice in his head. Pain who had been following in the shadows gave a low impressed whistle… Panic sure could toy with mortals when he needed to.

'_Just one peek… one tinsy peek to check she's there…' _The voice 'inside' Orpheus' head continued to plague him causing his chest to tighten and his heart to congeal.

'_Who will know… Go on… Look back…' _

Orpheus mused over the voice as he picked up pace. It was right, how would Hades know he'd peeked. The god was sitting in his Underworld palace with his wife, he wouldn't know if he took just one itty bitty peek to make sure that Hades was really keeping his word… after all, this was Hades and he wasn't always known for his honesty.

Orpheus stopped in his tracks and hardened his resolve, he was almost there, he was so close he could almost taste the surface now but he had to be sure… he had to be sure she was there. What was the point in coming this far if she wasn't there with him..

So he did it…

…he turned around.

Panic's rounded bug-like yellow eyes came into view and narrowed as a wide-toothed impish smile of glee appeared, Pain grinned back widely knowing what was to be done..

She was there.

Orpheus blinked at the spectral version of his beloved Eurydice, her long dark hair wafting in some unfelt breeze and her transparent skin glowing in the supernatural radiance of her soul. Eurydice's eyes fluttered open and she looked horrified by her husband's actions… the terms of her resurrection had been outlined by the fiery Lord of the Underworld and it was a 'once in a lifetime offer'..

But now the deal was broken..

…and so was her heart..

It was in this moment Pain and Panic sprang into action. Both imps appeared and seized Eurydice by her silky spectral arms. The soul's almost brown eyes widened in shock and she struggled violently in the grips of Hades' lackeys, twisting towards her beloved in anguish. Neither imp relented on their grip and immediately pulled her back down towards the Underworld.

The last thing Orpheus saw would haunt his mind for eternity. His beloved Eurydice being hauled back to Hades with dismay etched on every feature of her face. Her lips opened and released a single shrill cry,

'_Orpheuuuuuus..'_

* * *

The weeks flew by and soon enough the Saturnalia celebrations were closing in on them. This twelve day mid-winter celebration was dedicated to Cronos, former God of Philosophy and the ex-Ruler of the Cosmos.. But this dodeca-day celebration was focused on Cronos before the madness had set in, when the titan encouraged learning and new ideas. This once-wise titan had schooled many of the younger titans and early beings, like Prometheus, Helios and Selene, before learning that his own spawn would dethrone him. This along with being pestered by the Furies because of the grizzly manner in which he oust his own father was enough to drive any god insane… hence why those winged birds of vengeance had been banished to the Underworld as soon as Zeus took power.

Not that this celebration held any significance in the Underworld, after what he had gone through in the Titan War Hades would not allow anything that celebrated Cronos to take place in his subterranean realm. Persephone too did not particularly care for these celebrations, the goddess hated the cold weather and didn't have a very high opinion of her estranged grandfather anyway.

The young Queen of the Underworld was now almost full-term and her baby bump was now so big that she had difficulty moving, the pregnant goddess spent most of her time sprawled out on the twin-sized stone throne. Due to her husband's immensely hectic work-schedule Hades was barely around, meaning that Persephone was left primarily in the company of two year old Thanatos and Hecate. The lack of attention from her husband, the strain of carrying a baby while dealing with their two year old son was slowly chipping away at her emotional control making the young Goddess of Life incredibly weepy and frustrated. Persephone found herself prone to sudden sobbing fits, she felt as if she was dealing with this pregnancy alone.

'So what does Hades say when you try to talk to him about this?' Hecate asked tentatively, passing Persephone a glass of warm nectar and some pomegranate slices.

'Mostly he says..' Persephone paused before frowning and adding, '-'sorry babe, gotta blaze.'.' Her tone was dripping with repressed frustration, the goddess then bit into her fruit rather venomously while scowling in slight irritation. She chewed vigorously then swallowed before taking a sip of her nectar.

'I just wish he could be around more..' Persephone sounded bitterly. '-I'm telling you now, carrying Thanatos might have been hard but at least Hades was there for me..'

'Well, you knew this was bound to happen when you discovered you were having a winter baby..' Hecate sounded soothingly, she might not like Hades but she pitied their situation right now. Lack of communication had caused them to drift apart a little and even though she knew the two of them would reconcile the moment the workload slowed down it still made things tense in the House of Hades.

'I know..' Persephone sighed sadly. '-but why does it have to be so hard?' She stroked her swollen belly tenderly as a small ripple ran across her insides… the baby was as good as gold inside her womb. It might move in a spectral fluid-like motion but it gave her no grief or pain. Hades hadn't spend any proper time with her since the start of the busy season. He'd only felt the baby move once and he hadn't even noticed when Persephone had taken on some of the baby's power traits, she could now transform herself into smoky vapour and walk through solid surfaces, across water and slip up to others silent as a ghost, she could also create a shallow vampires mist across the ground about knee high. But it didn't matter what she did the fiery god didn't seem to notice her, she may as well have been invisible to him..

'It'll get better my dear, he's probably just stressed right now…' Hecate clutched her fingers gently remembering how she had once tried to claim that Hades wasn't running things properly and she could do a better job… oh, how her tune had changed once she saw first hand just how much work the Underworld really was. Suddenly her job as courier of lost souls and goddess of the magical arts wasn't so dull after all. Hades could keep his realm..

'-now come on Persephone, you look as if you could do with some rest..' The witch took the Queen of the Underworld by both hands and helped her out of the throne..

* * *

'_Mommie_…' The cry punctured into Persephone's sleep causing the goddess' eyes to flutter open. '_Mommie_…' The sound of Thanatos' wailing made the goddess sit up and pull her husband's black and red-cuffed dressing gown around her shoulders and tie it at the middle. As she crawled out of bed to go and see what her infant son wanted she glanced back at her husband who was fast asleep. Persephone hadn't even heard him come to bed, he must of slipped in after she had drifted off to sleep and by the morning he would probably slip off to work without her even noticing. The young goddess sighed heavily and lent over to kiss him gently on the cheek. As she pulled back Hades' lip curled.

'_Urh_, gimmie five more minutes..' The fiery god grunted vaguely before turning away from her and burying himself in the black duvet and jamming his thumb in his mouth with a contented sigh. Persephone smirked at the cuteness of her husband before,

'_Muh-huh-meee!_' Thanatos shrieked even louder now and the sleeping Lord of the Underworld didn't even stir from his peaceful sleep.

'Alright, alright… I'm coming, yeesh..' Persephone drawled before getting to her feet and supporting her huge bump with a hand as she headed out of the bedroom and across to her son's room. The minute she opened the door little Thanatos crawled down his bed and gripped the two black spindly edges of the black footboard, his round golden eyes were dilated in fear.

'I had a bad dweam..' Thanatos sounded in a small voice as Persephone waddled to the edge of his bed and sat down. When the nightmares had first started the little godling had been calling for his daddy but he soon gave up when he realised it was only his mommy that answered his call, it wasn't Hades' fault he was so busy but it was just something else he was missing in his family's life.

'Ohh, again Thanny..' She sighed scooping her son up into a warm embrace, resting his little body against the bump of his younger sibling. '-was it those scary dying souls again?'

'Uh-huh..' Thanatos cuddled into his mother tightly.

'_Uh_, these dreams have got to stop..' Persephone sighed, she was exhausted from having to wake up every night just to calm her worked up son down. She'd already spoken to both Morpheus and Phantosis and they'd both assured her that they weren't the reason their little cousin was getting no sleep due to nightmares. '-maybe I should speak to your auntie Fates and see what this is all about..' Persephone pulled her little boy gently away before settling him back into his bed. As she got up Thanatos dived out of his covers once more and gripped the dressing gown.

'I wanna sleep with you..' He sounded in a panicked little voice, clearly worried about sleeping on his own after such a traumatic dream.

Persephone sighed heavily.

'Well, it's not as if your father will noticed that I'm gone until morning..' She sounded, relenting to her son's wishes and peeling off the dressing gown. '-alright sweet-flames but just for tonight ok?' She then crawled into her son's bed along side him and settled down with him snuggled into her chest.

'I love you mommy..' Thanatos sounded in a sleepy voice as he drifted off to sleep once more, feeling secure in his mother's embrace.

'I love you too Thanatos..' Persephone responded running her fingers down his small back soothingly watching through narrowed sleepy eyes as he fell asleep next to her, a smile tweaking her lips as she felt the little one in her womb swoop.

* * *

It was very early in the morning when Hades roused himself from his sleep, yawning as he sat up and stretching out his stiff back with a slight 'oy'. He deduced that he must have been sleeping at a weird angle again. The fiery god then summoned at hot steaming coffee in a white mug with a large black 'H' on the side, taking a large swig and swallowing it. The god shook roughly as his morning caffeine fix hit him causing his blue flames to flare up and knock his navy night cap off.

'Now that's good coffee..' The fiery god mused setting his half-drunk mug on the black bedside cabinet beside a small collection of silver skull pins and a well-thumbed magazine entitled: _Minion Torture Monthly, a god's guide to disciplining underlings.._

Hades groaned heavily as he leaned back against the heavy black headboard, in truth he wasn't a morning god and these gruelling eighteen-hour days were beginning to wear him down.. He'd rather be spending time with his wife and son but unfortunately running the four corners of the Underworld in the middle of the busy season was a very demanding job, even with five minions helping him out.

The fiery god eventually sighed before downing the last of his coffee and reluctantly heaving himself out of bed. He snapped his fingers causing his navy night-chiton to disappear and be replaced with his usual grey chiton and black toga combo. Clutching the two sides of his black toga, Hades scooped up one of the skull chiton pins by his bed and fixed it to his toga. He adjusted the strap to make it more comfortable before moving over to the dresser and picking up his aftershave, slapping it on before checking out his reflection. Hades was by no means a vain god but he did like to look his best, especially since he was married to a goddess who was barely a tenth of his age. Sometimes he wondered what his wife even saw in him. She was so jaw-droopingly stunning and he was, well… _him_.

The fiery god shook his head… and now he was barely around for her anymore.

What kind of husband was he?

_You're still better than Bolt Boy…_ His mind reasoned soundly causing Hades to frown. No, he wasn't as neglectful as that self-absorbed idiot. Always forgetting his wife's birthday or their anniversary, or choosing to smite some poor schmo over spending time with her..

But unlike Zeus, Hades wasn't being negligent by choice, the fiery god felt guilty for not being able to spend time with his family, especially because he knew he was missing out on some important bonding time with them. He barely knew anything that was happening in his own home these days, the amount of paper work building on his desk was getting ridiculous… back orders, afterlife location forms, Tartarus punishment approval forms, rebirth applications, the weekly soul count and the monthly budget estimates were all waiting to be sifted through… plus the usual Tartarus Inspection, the Asphodel Assessment and the Elysium Survey were all due to be done and he was still expected to be present for the judging of the souls… the soul reports that came back from those were always a drag. The fiery god sometimes lost the will to live over those things as he didn't need some long pointless passage summarizing the judging if he'd been there to witness it! All he really needed was a few clip-notes and the three former-kings' recommendation of an afterlife… but try telling Minos, Rhadamanthus and Aeacus. Those three stiffs he put in charge of judging the new arrivals in his absence were sticklers for details..

'Oy vey..' Hades groaned turning away from the dresser and pulling a grimaced look. It was giving him a migraine just _thinking_ about his massive workload.

It was at this point, just before he would disappear off to go and face his massive workload, the fiery god would sit with his sleeping wife and remind himself why he was putting himself through all of this.. But when the god rolled his large golden eyes around to the sleigh bed he was surprised to find it empty.

'What the-?' Hades frowned in confusion. Where was Persephone? It was far too early in the morning for her to be awake, especially since she wasn't a morning god either. Hades shook his head and sighed heavily, if he saw her later he'd ask her about this but he really needed to mosey on. The fiery god left the bedroom and moved over to the door of his infant son's room. Every morning Hades would open the door to hi son's room to check on Thanatos… the little godling was usually asleep as he, like both his parents was a late riser, but there was a first time for everything.

As he opened the door to the bedroom and crossed the threshold of the room he found his little son curled up asleep in the arms of his wife. Hades blinked at the sight before his face softened from confusion into admiration. At some point during the night his wife must have slipped out of their bed and into her son's… he did feel a twinge of rejection but the overall sight of these two deities curled up together was adorable.

'Heh, cute..' He murmured vaguely. '-very cute..' The god narrowed his eyes before turning away and shutting the door once more and headed off in the direction of the stairwell down to the throne room..

* * *

'Hades..' Persephone sounded as she rapped on the open door to his study where her husband was slouched in a black bony swivel-chair and sifting through the mass of paperwork that was littering his desk. '-we need to talk..'

It was early afternoon now and while her infant son was taking a nap to recoup his lost hours last night the goddess decided to speak to her husband about their son's 'little problem'.

'Uh, yeh just gimmie one sec baby I just gotta..' The god tailed off into vague mumbling as he pulled out a scroll and began to study the contents, frowning slightly before eventually sighing and signing the bottom.

'Well..' Persephone moved into the study and twisted her wedding ring around her finger. '-it's about Thanatos..'

'Uh-huh..' Hades mused over another scroll, his eyes darting back and forth as he skim-read the contents.

'-he's been having these nightmares you see..' The young queen continued and Hades nodded as if he was following the conversation.

'Hmm.. good.. good.' This vague response proved that he wasn't really listening to his wife and Persephone frowned at her husband.

'No Hades… that's bad..' She sounded sternly folding her arms with a pout.

'What?' Hades blinked in confusion before pulling the scroll out of his face and looking at his wife.

'Than's been having nightmares..' Persephone said plainly.

'What kind of nightmares?' Hades asked raising a brow intrigued now.

'He's been having dreams about mortals dying..' Persephone replied. '-I'm worried about him, he's refusing to go to sleep because he's scared they're going to haunt him.' The fiery Lord of the Underworld blinked before realising that this must have been why his wife was sleeping with their son last night.

'So, what? Ya want me to talk to Phantosis or something?' Hades asked shrugging and turning back to his paperwork.

'I already did..' Persephone sighed. '-both he and his brother Morpheus insist that he's not getting these dreams from them..' Hades signed the sheet before turning back to his wife.

'Sephy I'm sure it's nothing to worry about..' Hades drawled with a smirk at his wife. '-kid's get bad dreams all the time and the brat is surrounded by dead stiffs, it's probably just his way of trying to make sense of them..'

'Maybe..' Persephone responded softly before adding, '-but I was thinking that we could consult the Fates, just to be safe. I mean Thanatos is destined to become the God of Death right..' Hades looked up from his paperwork at this.

'_Right_..' He drawled in a musing tone.

'Well maybe he can predict how mortals are going to die..' The goddess said causing Hades to raise both brows doubtfully.

'I think your grasping at straws baby..' The fiery god sounded dryly in response.

'Well maybe I am or maybe I'm not, but there's only one way to find out for sure..' Persephone stated with a small smile causing Hades to sigh heavily.

'Fine, fine, fine..' The fiery god responded busying himself with his paperwork once more.'-I'll schedule an appointment with the Fates later, ok?'

'I'm not doing anything, I could just go over and ask them..' Persephone suggested helpfully but this caused her husband to stare at her in surprise.

'Uh..' He finally responded, taking in his wife's massive bump. '-in you condition babe? I don't think so..' The fiery god shook his head roughly and snapped his fingers causing a few scroll on his desk to file themselves away in the appropriate records.

'Hades, this baby isn't due for another week..' Persephone sounded firmly, even at this stage in her pregnancy she didn't like being treated like an invalid.'-and besides I'll take Hecate with me, that way if anything does happen I won't be alone..' The fiery Lord of the Underworld caught that steely look of determination in her bright green eyes and realised that his wife wouldn't give up until she got her way in the end. So instead of arguing with her the god decided to just relent.

'Ok, fine Sephy…' He sighed heavily. '-just don't overdo it..'

'I won't..' Persephone leaned in to kiss her husband's cheek. '-I promise..' She then waved her husband off before shutting the door behind her as she left his study.

* * *

_**Little Notes:**_

_Hey peeps, this chapter is mostly a filler with some cutsie family fluff and a story twist or two until the baby is born which will be any chapter now!_

_I love Pain and Panic but they themselves do seem to get underplayed a lot, both in the series and in fanfics… Pain is obviously a demon of Torment who takes pleasure in the pain and suffering of others and while he might not be the smartest cookie he clearly is very conniving and cunning. Panic is obviously a demon of Fear who can turn other beings deepest fear and doubts against them but I imagine his own nerves and low self-esteem are what stops him from reaching his full potential… it is for this reason I think Hades passes over him and uses minions like Neurosis and Doubt in the series to do jobs which Panic should be able to handle himself… this is just a theory on the imps so feel free to correct me on it or add your own thoughts._

_On a side note, the idea of only Panic's eyes and wide smirking grin being on show is kind of like looking at a sinister Cheshire Cat.._

_I've heard that little kids can get bad dreams when first sleeping separate from their parents and although this too is happening to Thanatos I decided to take it a step further since we are looking at a god who is going to be representing Death when he grows up a bit more.. I know my last couple of chaps have been Thanatos-light but the little godling will be causing a very big fuss very soon XP_

_Until next time…_

_Ditzy X_


	18. The Birth of a Bouncing Baby,,?

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: I agree… right now while he's a tiny tot it must be a dead scary gift (yeh, yeh awful pun, I get it..) but at least once he has a better understanding of it it should be useful when he's older. X**_

_**DisneyPrincess: I've always love Pain and Panic but they always seem to get left out of the fun… and yeh, poor Orpheus but what does he expect by making a deal with Hades x**_

_**BlackDiamond: I think you meant Orpheus since Morpheus was the god of Sleep (in Hercules anyway).. And yeh, Hades is probably the one god you shouldn't trust. x**_

_**MissSkulduggeryPleasent: Happy to make your day anyday, you made mine by leaving a review… Yeh, Hades has kind of lost his edge but then with a wife and kid it's to be expected but don't worry, it'll pop back from time to time X**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Eighteen:****The Birth of a Bouncing Baby…?**

'Persephone..' Hecate drawled as she lent on one hip and raised her brows to her queen. '-you should have just let Hades make the appointment.'

'Hecate I'm _fiine_..' The heavily pregnant goddess sighed, feeling irritated by the witch for treating her like a delicate amphora. '-this baby is not due for a week-'

'That was just an estimated guess..' Hecate cut over her. '-and anyway, if you did conceive this baby when you think you did that means it could come any time in this next week, and besides you shouldn't be overexerting yourself at this stage in your pregnancy, unnecessary stress and worry could cause you to give birth prematurely.' The Goddess of Witchcraft sounded causing Persephone to roll her eyes.

'Yes I know Hecate but this is important..' Persephone responded looking anxious. '-I'm worried about Thanatos' mental state, he's not sleeping properly and he's starting to fear the dead.' She seemed to be working herself up again as her hormones were still a little off.

'Persephone calm down, I'm sure everything will be alright, I can brew up a potion for a dreamless sleep and that should help your son get some shut eye.' Hecate suggested, it was worth a shot..

'But I still want to talk to the Fates and understand why Thanatos is just getting these strange dreams now.' Persephone perched herself on the edge of the chessboard to rest her feet from carrying the enormous bump on her front.

'It's probably just his powers growing..' The witch responded, moving over to Persephone and sitting beside her, stroking her arm comfortingly. '-he probably has a gift for sensing when Atropos is about to cut the mortal threads of life and believe me dear..' The witch smiled. '-being so closely connected with the Fates will be an advantage for him considering his future occupation.'

'I suppose..' Persephone mused and sighed.

'Anyway, you are in no condition to travel to the Fates just now and you would only be putting yourself and the baby at risk just by materializing to them.'

So what do you propose we do?' Persephone sagged her shoulders with a sense of hopelessness fill her. 'Do you really think this dreamless potion will work on Than?' The white-skinned goddess asked turning her lovely green eyes to Hecate.

'Well, there's only one way to find out…' The witch responded lightly with a smirk. '-I'll brew the concoction this afternoon and it should be ready for your son by tonight.'

'Thanks Hecate..' Persephone sounded with a slight smile.

'Not a problem..' The Goddess of Witchcraft smiled before studying Persephone's face. '-hmm, you look a little peaky..' She mused thoughtfully before smirking then getting to her feet. '-how about some nectar? That should put the glow back into your aura..'

'Sure..' Persephone smiled as she made herself more comfortable on the chessboard, since she wasn't going to see the Fates anytime soon so she might as well settle. She blinked as Hecate got off of her feet and began heading towards the hallway towards the kitchen.

'You could just summon it from here..' Persephone stated raising a brow at the goddess.

'Oh, if I send it to you from the kitchen then I can start on the potion for Thanatos and just leave it to brew for the rest of the afternoon..' Persephone blinked, nodded then smiled widely.

'Ooh.. Good idea.' Persephone clapped her hands together happily.

'Sit tight and call if you need anything else, ok?' Hecate smirked before waving her mistress off. Persephone watched as the goddess disappeared off down the hallway.

The Goddess of the Life sighed heavily as Hecate left and for a moment she sat there merely stroking her bump thoughtfully. She'd been finding it hard to accept her limitations with this pregnancy, she had had issues before but since it had been summer and early autumn the workload had been light. But this time it was busy, her husband and their minions could use her help, she felt useless and like she was skiving off. She found it hard to sit back and relax as others were running themselves ragged just to keep up with the demanding workload.

Persephone paused in her musing as a glass of cool nectar appeared out of a puff of purple smoke along with a sliced up pomegranate. The goddess smiled as she spotted the fruit, Hecate must have thought she could have used a snack. The pregnant goddess took a sip of the refreshing drink before biting into the ripe watery seeds. Just as she swallowed the seeds she felt a sharp stabbing pain in her uterus.

The Queen of the Underworld gasped and dropped the pomegranate slice on the floor as she clutched her bump protectively feeling the pain wash over her. Persephone groaned heavily inwardly cursing another set of false contractions… ooh, she didn't miss then heaved herself to her feet intending to walk off the hicks like she had done with the others but as she stood on her feet she felt a sudden sense of release.

Instantly her waters broke…

Persephone's jaw dropped at the sight of her amniotic fluid gushing over the clean stone tiles of the floor. An instant sense of dread washed over her as she quickly realised that the baby was coming…

…_right now!_

Suddenly a huge surge of pain washed over her lower abdomen as well as the instant instinct to push. Persephone gasped again, falling backwards and gripping the edge of the chessboard for support, knocking off the nectar and pomegranate slices causing them to spill all over the floor.

'Huh… huh…' Persephone moaned trying to call for Hecate then suddenly she screamed as another shot of pain ripped through her, more intense than the last… as if it was ripping her in two.

'_Hecate!_' Her voice screeched at the top of her lungs.

The next second the witch appeared looking worried, her silver eyes widened as she quickly realised that Persephone was in labour.

'Persephone…' Hecate sounded in sympathy instantly helping the goddess back onto the chessboard and flicking her hand causing a set of pillows and blankets appear ready for birthing the baby. She snapped her fingers and Persephone was suddenly dressed in her white maternity chiton. It was like one of Hades' under chitons but instead of the triangular detail it had a lacy collar and a catch at the front for easy opening.

'Hecate..' Persephone gasped in a panicky voice, her green eyes dilated in fear. '-the baby… it's too soon..' The witch shushed the goddess gently before summoning a sponge and water and mopping her brow as she coaxed her to breathe.

'Shh, shh, shh… it's alright, it's alright, the baby will be fine as long as you control your breathing..' Hecate squeezed her hand as another contraction washed over Persephone. The white-skinned goddess winced painfully as it passed then began to breathe slowly before remembering her husband.

'Hades..' Persephone gasped. '-you gotta go get Hades..'

'Relax, relax we'll take care of it..' Hecate sounded soothingly.

'We?' Persephone sounded blinking confused. Hecate smiled widely before pulling back and calling out,

'Nyx, Erebus… _it's time!_' The moment the witch closed her mouth both the Goddess of Night and her husband the God of Darkness materialized into the room smiling widely at her.

Persephone straightened and blinked even more confused.

'What's going on?' She asked, pleased that she had a break in contractions to process this.

'Oh don't worry dear..' Nyx smiled in a maternal fashion. '-since our little Hadiekins has been so busy with work, the three of us are going to help you through the birth, so just relax sweetheart.' Nyx perched onto the side of the chessboard beside Persephone who looked even more stunned.

'How?' Persephone sounded.

'Well, Erebus will look after Thanatos while I act as your birthing partner and Hecate will be delivering your baby..' Nyx smiled easily.

'But my mother..' Persephone started but Nyx shushed her, settling her back onto the pillows tenderly.

'We will send an envoy to your mother the moment the baby is born but right now giving birth to your child safely is your number one priority..' She smiled.

'Just leave the rest to us..' Erebus added in a soft tone with a kind smirk.

Persephone didn't have a chance to argue as another contraction made her scream out in pain, this time the urge to push was overwhelming. Hecate checked Persephone over.

'Ok, we're on people she is fully dilated and ready to give birth..' The witch then whipped around to Erebus. '-do you think you can track down Hades and get him up here right away?'

'Not an issue..' Erebus sounded and his shadowy mass melted away from the room.

Meanwhile Nyx grasped Persephone's hand and moved the hair out of her face.

'Remember your breathing sweetheart, nice and slow..' She sounded soothingly.

'Persephone… you need to push..' Hecate called out and Persephone sobbed and shook her head stubbornly.

'But Hades..' The goddess whimpered terrified.

'This baby can't wait for him..' Hecate sounded and the pregnant goddess could tell by the growing tension that she was telling the truth. So Persephone clasped her mother-in-law's bluish-lilac fingers and pushed with all her might, letting out a huge scream as she did, praying that Erebus was able to find her husband in time..

* * *

'_Gwampa!_' Erebus smiled as Thanatos looked up cheerfully from his toys as the shadowy deity entered his grandson's room. The fiery little godling instantly got to his feet, abandoned Mr Skelton and the rest of the toys and toddled over to his grandfather. Erebus' shadowy tendril arms extended down to the little godling and scooped him up off the floor into a big embrace.

'Hey little inferno, have you been behaving' yourself?' The large mass of shadow's full grey lips curved upwards into a wider smirk revealing several large sharp grey fangs.

'_Uh_..' Thanatos blinked and rolled his eyes upwards trying to look as innocent as possible. 'I twy..' He sounded in his high little boyish voice.

Erebus only laughed in response to this.

'Oh well..' He sighed lightly clutching the little body of his grandchild close to him. '-at least your being honest Than..' The shadowy deity's laughter made the little godling blink then return his grandfather's smirk.

'Now c'mon little god, we need to track down your father..' Erebus moved Thanatos into one dark shadowy arm.

'Why?' Thanatos instantly piped up looking confused.

'Because _you_..' Erebus smirked tapping Thanatos' straight little nose. '-are about to become a big brother and we need to pass the message onto daddy..' At the mention of becoming a 'big brother' the two year old godling frowned.

'_Ah_, you don't like the idea now short-flames but you'll come around in time.' Erebus drawled lightly, chuckling warmly at his grandson's irritability.

'No I won't..' Thanatos sounded stubbornly scowling at the fact that his grandfather was laughing at him.

'Yes you will..' The shadowy deity continued to smirk amused.

'No I won't..' Thanatos mumbled as the two of them materialized into the shadows of Erebus, the dark deity's echoing chuckle remained behind in the empty room.

* * *

'Push Persephone _push_..' Nyx sounded encouragingly, clutching her daughter-in-law's fingers as Persephone screamed out forcing herself to push.

'That's great..' Hecate sounded. '-just little more..' Persephone gasped painfully before slumping back as Nyx moped her brow.

'We've got a head now..' Hecate announced breathless with joy as she lifted herself up to look at the other goddesses.

'_Really..?_' Persephone smiled widely despite her tiredness, Nyx looked as if she wanted to burst into tears of joy. The white-skinned goddess then suddenly looked sad. 'I wish Hades was here for this..'

'We all do sweetheart..' Nyx sounded lovingly stroking her upper arm gently. There was a moment of silence before a stabbing pain made Persephone wince and cry out. Hecate instantly turned back to the baby that was trying to be born.

'Ok, ok, I need a big one this time..' The witch sounded and Persephone groaned heavily. 'I know, I know but this is the final push I promise..' Hecate sounded soothingly. '-your almost there Persephone don't give up now.' The white-skinned goddess nodded and began to try and control her breathing.

'Ok my dear, nice and slow..' Nyx was saying coaxingly. '-that's right..' She then smiled in her well practised motherly way. '-you ready to push dear..'

Persephone screwed up her eyes, wrinkled her nose and nodded as she gripped Nyx' hand tightly. Nyx didn't even wince, instead she stroked her fingers and squeezed them reassuringly.

'On three Persephone..' Hecate sounded as she placed her hands on the head of the baby, ready to ease it out as it's mommy pushed. Persephone winced at the overwhelming urge to push was agonizing.

'One… two… _three_..' Hecate sounded and immediately Persephone pushed, screaming as she clutched fiercely onto Nyx.

'_Arghhhhhhhh…!_'

* * *

'_Hades!_'

Erebus' voice sounded before the fiery Lord of the Underworld could see his father. Hades blinked in surprise and turned away from the mass of new arrivals getting of Charon's boat. He'd been supervising the souls, making sure that none of them tried to escape back to the surface. There were always a few stiffs that tried to run scared when they caught sight of him but Hades was good at roping them back in..

'Dad?' Hades sounded confused looking around the docks of the Styx for any sign of his father's shadows. While the fiery god was distracted one of the souls that had been coming up and looking a little skittish swooped up into the air and tried to make a break for it. The fiery Lord of the Dead however sensed the soul's movement and he snapped his head around and his eyes widened at the soul trying to escape.

'_Oh no ya don't!_' Hades snarled his arms extended into smoke, shooting upwards and grasping the soul by it's wispy train. The soul gasped as the fiery God of the Dead yanked it back down to him and seized him by the throat as his fingers resolidified.

'Not on my watch, bub!' He snarled before stretching the soul between his hands and slinging it onwards in the imps direction as they were spear-heading the doom service while he checked in the newbies.

'Nicely done..' Erebus' voice sounded as the large shadowy deity appeared with two year old Thanatos in his left arm.

'Daddy!' The little godling sounded cheerfully as soon as his round golden eyes caught sight of his blue-flamed father.

'Thanks, just doin' ma duty..' Hades sounded with a smirk. '-hey there short-stuff..' The fiery god added ruffling his son's flames playfully before turning back to his work and casually greeting a couple of the new arrivals.

'Your wife needs you..' Erebus sounded causing Hades to turn around to his father. '-she's gone into labour..'

'_What!_' Hades flared in surprise at his father. 'But, it's too soon!' He sounded panicked but Erebus shushed the fiery god.

'Son, re-_lax… _Hecate and Nyx are helping her give birth as we speak but you need to go to her _now_.' The fiery god breathed slowly before rubbing his head.

'Alright, alright… I'm cool… I'm fine… I can handle this…' The fiery god then glanced at his two year old son. 'Your ok with watchin' Thanatos aren'tcha?' He asked Erebus and the shadowy deity raised a grey eyebrow at his son.

'Heh, I raised you didn't I?' The black shadowy god smirked widely. 'I think I can handle anything this kid can dish out..' Erebus sounded in the kind of smug over-confident tone that Hades usually used. The fiery god smirked at his father before vanishing out in a swirl of smoke.

* * *

Baby cries filled the throne room as Hecate washed down the newly born deity and cut it's umbilical cord. Persephone smiled wearily, exhausted from child birth but pleased that the baby was now out of her and completely healthy.

'It's a girl…' Hecate declared happily causing Persephone to gasp in delight. The witch brought the baby to her mother and placed it in her arms. The white-skinned goddess smiled widely at the sight of her new born baby girl.

'_Ohh_..' She cooed, feeling her maternal instincts kick in. '-she's so _beautiful_..' Her baby daughter merely lay calmly in her mother's arms, almost as if she were sleeping. Her skin was a greyish-blue and she had a small little button nose with a small heart-shaped face, her eyes were closed but she had a lock of brilliant blue hair that curled over her forehead. The most amazing feature of this tiny little baby was her aura, it was a brilliant star-white, giving her a strangely eerie ghostly glow.

All three goddesses had been so busy gazing at the new subterranean goddess that they didn't even notice when Hades materialized into the room. The fiery god blinked confused at the sight of all three goddesses crowded together before realising with a slight pinch of regret that he had missed the birth of the baby.

'So is anyone gonna let me see my own kid?' Hades asked causing all three goddesses to whip around in surprise before calming themselves at the sight of him.

'Oh Hades..' Nyx sounded gently.'-you missed the birth bube..' She looked apologetic but the fiery god shrugged casually at his mother.

'Meh, tell me something I don't know..' He responded lightly.

'We've got a daughter sweetie..' Persephone sounded smiling tired but pleased at her husband who blinked.

'We do..?' He sounded in amazement blinking in shock before smirking at his wife.

'Yeh..' Persephone nodded. '-do you want to meet her?'

'Well, _duhhh_..' The fiery god sounded in mock-stupidity before vanishing in a curl of smoke and reappearing on the other side of his wife. '-why else would I be here?' He flashed his wife a wide-fanged smirk before turning his eyes to the baby in his wife's arms.

'_Wow_..' It was the only word the fiery god could muster as his round golden eyes took in his daughter's eerie beauty. Persephone smiled at her husband, he didn't need to say anymore. He had summed up her feelings too with that one word.

Both Nyx and Hecate got up from the chessboard.

'We'll just let you get acquainted with your new baby..' Nyx sounded as Hecate nodded then both women dematerialized out of the room to join Erebus with Thanatos.

'Do you want to hold her?' Persephone sounded gently, smiling at the sight of Hades throwing their daughter n instantly smitten look.

'Uh… sure..' Hades sounded nervously and the white-skinned goddess bundled her daughter up in her indigo blanket and gently placed her in her daddy's arms.

'Just watch her head sweetie..' Persephone sounded as Hades cradled his daughter. The moment she was settled in her daddy's arms the tiny pale blue-skinned baby girl opened her eyes revealing a set of brilliant green eyes the exact same shape as her mother's.

'So… whatta we gonna call her?' Hades sounded in a musing tone watching his daughter as she studied her parents curiously. Persephone smiled as she leant her head on her husband's shoulder and admired her little girl.

'Melinoe..' She sounded gently. 'Somehow.. I think it's going to suit her..'

* * *

**_Little Notes:_**

_Hey Peeps, another lovely long chapter for you! A brand new baby for Hades and Seph… I'm sure you all knew who it was but hey… it's still fun to pretend you don't know.._

_Ok, there were two gods labelled as father of Melinoe. One was Zeus and one was Hades. Personally I feel that the true father of the child was Hades because he was also known as Zeus Kachitonos (the hospitable Zeus of the departed) or Chithonos and that 'heavenly' Zeus was just a case of mistaken identity. Mythologically speaking November Oradot follows the myth of Melinoe a little more closely than I do in her own fic 'The Other Princess', it's also for this reason that I don't follow her mythological colouring of half dark limbs and half light (I don't want to be seen as a copycat)… I do however give her Hades' skin tones with Persephone's aura as my own indication of her light and dark sides to coincide with myth._

_I will probably only write a few chapters on her childhood and early relationship with her brother because I do need to start moving this story along a bit quicker than it is…_

_Stay tunned…_

_Ditzy X_


	19. Melinoe's Biggest Milestone

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: Hmmm? after you read this chap will you still be Than's number1 fan? X**_

_**DisneyPrincess: Ha-ha that's what i love about Hades... he has an answer for everything! There's a bit more Hades smart-mouthing in this chap too! X**_

_**BlackDiamond: There's a little on her powers in this chapter but mostly it's just Melione and Than cuteness X**_

_**DarkriaxCresselia: WB hun, no worries... everybody deserves a break sometimes XP**_

_**Yeh, poor Hades missed the birth of his own daughter *sniff*... and as for Than being jelous of his sister, just read on for the answer.. x**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Nineteen:****Melinoe's Biggest Milestone**

Melinoe blinked up at her slightly blurry parents. She could only focus on one face at a time, her big green eyes swivelled back and forth as she took in her parents for the first time. The new-born goddess only had a vague memory of sounds from inside the womb so now she had faces to attach to the voices. She took in her mother first as she recognised the most prominent voice in her small selection of memories. She was prettier than anything Melinoe could have dreamt up of inside the 'dark place' and the sight of her was instantly soothing to the minute goddess. She then turned her eyes to her father. His was the voice she had heard in the night, not that she had any sense of time. Hades had spent many nights of Persephone's pregnancy laid next to her sleeping form either talking or stroking her large bump… night was the only time he had when he could attempt to bond with his unborn baby.

The minute baby goddess seemed to stare fascinated by her father's appearance. He was very different to her beautiful mother. He would have looked both grim and foreboding if it wasn't for the kind, fatherly smirk that was twisted on his large blue lips. His round yellow eyes were narrowed lazily as he held her with gentle firmness. Melinoe closed her eyes with a little smile feeling safe and secure in his arms.

Persephone sighed as their little girl closed her eyes with a sleepy little smile on her little blue lips.

'Oh, isn't she just a peach Hades?' The white-skinned goddess cooed adorably, clasping her fingers together in admiration.

'Heh, _yehhh_..' The blue-flamed god drawled as his eyes narrowed further in endearment. '-I can see I'm gonna have trouble keepin' the creeps away from this one.' Hades snickered in amusement then his eyes narrowed further in amusement at his little girl. Persephone giggled at her husband's words.

'Well thank the Fates you won't have to worry about that for another decade at least..' The white-skinned goddess responded with good humour. She'd always figured that Hades would be very protective over any daughter they'd have.

'True..' Hades' yellow eyes rolled around to his wife before he offering her the snoozing baby in his arms. '-here, take Mel a sec.' The fiery god placed the tiny goddess in his wife's arms before getting off of the chessboard.

'Your not going back to work are you?' Persephone sounded slightly panicked, fearing that her husband was about to ditch her with their twenty minute old daughter. Sure, the Underworld was heaving at this time of year, but she'd just given birth to his first daughter..

'What?' The fiery god blinked at his wife looking bemused for a split-second then recovering quickly and chuckling amused. 'Heh heh, don't be such an imp Sephy, I'm just gonna go next door and get the brat so he can see his sis..' Hades sounded amiably.

'Ohh..' Persephone drawled with understanding. Hades then turned away still chuckling with amusement.

'Hah, like I'm _that_ into my work..' He muttered to himself with a roll of the eyes in good humour. '-who does she think I am, _Charon_?' The flame-haired god continued snickering as he left the room.

* * *

'Oh _Thanatos_..' Hades purred cheerfully as he poked his head around the door. '-there's a little cutie through here who wants to meet'cha..' The blue-flamed god then ignored the scowl on his two year old son's face and scooped him up into his arms.

'I don't wanna see cooties..' Thanatos sounded petulantly, clearly mishearing his father.

'Well we better head dear..' Nyx sounded gently to her husband. '-you need to recall the shadows so Aurora can bring in a new day.' Erebus groaned in irritation at this reminder.

'_Urh_..' The black shadowy deity gave a long groan then glared at his wife as if he were being put upon. '-dag-nabbit woman, can't a god sit down for more than five minutes without being _nagged_?' Nyx folded her arms before tapping her shadow-dial impatiently.

'Evidently not..' Erebus added before sighing and hauling himself out of his seat. '_Fiine_, I'm gone..' The shadowy deity sounded immaturely before vanishing in a cloud of smoky shadow adding in a disembodied voice laced with displeasure. '-just gonna see my new grandchild.. unless _somebody_ has an issue with that!' Nyx shook her head and half rolled her eyes. Hades on the other hand bit his lip and tried not to smirk in amusement.

'I see dad's as enthusiastic as ever..' He drawled sarcastically at his mother with the smallest hint of glee in his voice.

'Oh ignore his kvetchin' he's just fahkempt bubeleh..' Nyx sounded as she reached up and pinched his cheek affectionately.

'Oy, whatta goy..' Hades drawled, his smirk widening slightly at his mother.

'So true..' Nyx sighed happily in response tittering lightly before sighing and turning to her son. '-now I've gotta run too shnookums, do you want me to drop in to your sisters and make that appointment for you and Sephy?' She asked sweetly.

'Oh would you mom..?' Hades responded eagerly. 'That would be great..'

'Ok-dokey I'll do that for you, now take care of your wife Hadiekins..' Nyx kissed her son's cheek before bending down to her grandson. '-and you be nice to your little sister, ok my little hamantaschen..' She kissed his cheek too then vanished into a shimmer of stars.

'I don't wanna sista..' The golden-flamed godling sounded huffily, folding his arms after wiping his grandmother's kiss onto the sleeve of his navy under-tunic.

'_Urh_..' Hades groaned sympathetically. '-neither did I short-flames but I got landed with three of 'em so count yourself lucky..' The fiery god drawled before spotting Hecate who was stood on the other side of where his mother had been.

'You still here _witch_?' Hades sounded in a cool distant voice, his eyes narrowing in dislike towards his wife's latest minion.

'Yes..' Hecate sounded irritably folding her arms tightly across the chest.

'I've an idea..' Hades responded, ignoring the witch's tone. '-why don't you go home until my wife finds a use for you, _assuming you still have a home?_' The fiery god added the last part nastily while flaring at the Goddess of Witchcraft.

'Of course I still have a home..' Hecate responded in the same prickly tone, glaring at Hades now.

'Oh really? Well I just assumed that since you spend all your time here you must be homeless.' The fiery god sneered.

'_Urh_..' Hecate snorted in annoyance. '-your such a _titan!_' Hecate snarled crossly, her cheeks tinged a darker violet with frustration.

'Oh yeh?' Hades snarled shaking the fist of his free hand at the pale violet-skinned goddess. 'Well replace the 'W' with a 'Beta' and you've got what I think of you, _witch!_'

'I don't have to stand here and take your guff you flame-haired jack-in-the-box!' Hecate snarled back in fury. 'If anybody but _you_ needs me I'll be in my grotto!' She disappeared in a haughty puff of purple smoke.

'_Finally_..' Hades drawled in exasperation to his two year old son who only blinked at his father. '-she takes the hint..' He then smirked at Thanatos. 'Now c'mon brat, you gotta sister to meet..' The fiery god then turned and exited the den.

'But I don't wanna-' Thanatos started to whine but was cut off by his father.

'_Can it brat_, you gotta sister now deal with it..'

* * *

Persephone had been breast-feeding Melinoe while her husband had been fetching their son. By the time the tiny baby had been winded Erebus had come through to fuss and coo over his first granddaughter before vanishing off to retract his shadows from the surface world. The white-skinned goddess looked up and smiled as her husband returned with their two year old son in the crook of his left arm.

'Hi sweet-flames..' Persephone sounded smiling at Thanatos as Hades placed the golden-flamed godling on the chessboard beside her and the baby. '-whatta you think of your little sister, hmm?' The white-skinned goddess sounded amiably lowering the pale blue-skinned baby so her golden-flamed brother could see her clearly.

Thanatos blinked at his mother before lowering his eyes to look at his little sister.

Melinoe batted her eyelashes innocently at her big brother, peering up keenly at the golden-flamed god who was looking back at her with eyes that matched her daddy's. A small smile tweaked her plump blue lips as she took in his white skin, square jaw, boyish cheeks and sharp off-white baby-fangs.

For a moment little Thanatos' face was unreadable…

…and then the little godling's features twisted into a sneer of disgust.

'_I don't like you.._' He said to her in a low petulant tone as he flared irritably.

* * *

Over the next few days Persephone found herself showered in gifts as the news of the Underworld's new baby hit Olympus. She received chitons, toys and baby blankets, all of them had been carefully made with pale or dark colours to suit the Underworld couple's gloomy tastes. She even received a few hand-me-down pieces from Echidna, Lamia and Nyx. A few visitors came down from the big cloud just to take a peek at little Melinoe and everyone agreed that she was a beautiful baby. Through it all the tiny goddess remained unperturbed by all the new faces, she merely yawned and fell asleep when she was tired of watching all the gods that were above her.

Thanatos on the other hand was a different story entirely.

The two year old godling found himself being cast aside in favour of little Melinoe, this wasn't really the case but it was what it felt like to the little godling. As the group all cooed and fussed over the new baby little Thanatos would flare nastily in the corner before disappearing off in a cloud of smoke to go and sulk in his room. As the days passed Thanatos seemed to draw into himself. He became quiet, moody and very hostile towards Melinoe, not wanting to know her at all… in his mind she had destroyed everything between him and his parents.

By the time spring had rolled around things were no better… in fact they'd gotten worse.

Thanatos was often seen perched on a small stool facing the cold grey wall of the throne room wall flaring nastily with a petulant scowl set on his little boyish face. This seemed to be the norm these days. He had been banished to the 'naughty corner' because he had set his sister's chiton alight in a flare of jealousy. The fact that little Melinoe's dark blue chiton was flame-retardant and she was an immortal goddess was besides the point, it was because Thanatos had used his powers against his sister was the reason he had landed himself punishment.

Now that spring was here Hades was able to witness Thanatos' hostile behaviour for himself instead of just hearing it second hand from his concerned wife. The fiery god was quick to extinguish bad flames and punish his golden-flamed son for his misdeeds. After years of watching Ares and Athena bicker and squabble while Zeus did nothing Hades had promised himself that if by some miracle he did end up with kids he was not going to let them follow suit.

To spare her husband the stress of dealing with both Thanatos and Melinoe together while she was working on the surface Persephone took her son with her. This way Hades could bond with his daughter while Thanatos could work on controlling his deathly powers..

After their meeting with the Fates Persephone's fears about her son's dreams had been confirmed. These 'dreams' were actually psychic flashes, meaning Thanatos could indeed predict when and how mortals were going to die. The Fates also stated that once these 'dreams' spilled over into his waking life they would teach him to hone his gift so that one day he would be able to predict the future just as they could.. This explained why Hecate's 'dreamless sleep' potion had failed to take effect, Thanatos was using a different section of his mind to project these psychic flashes. The information nearly cause Hades to burst out into flames of shock. He'd just assumed Thanatos was having nightmares because he didn't understand fully where dead souls came from but in actual fact he knew _exactly _where they were coming from.

While things were quiet during the day when Thanatos was on the surface with Persephone and Melinoe was underground with her father, but things soon returned to chaos when the two siblings were reunited for the evening. Both imps and Sirens wisely vanished from sight out of fear of becoming an outlet for pent-up aggressions. They were happy to spend time with the subterranean children separately but being in a room with an emotionally charged Thanatos was too much for their limited abilities to bear, especially the Sirens who were still not accustomed to fiery flare ups.

* * *

As the months passed Thanatos remained as hostile as ever with his sister, not wanting to have much to do with the little goddess despite her attempts to bridge the gap. Melinoe's first deliberate smile was towards her brother. This earned her a fireball in the face and Thanatos earned himself a time out, cursing his sister as he stomped off to what was now known as 'his corner' for the amount of time he spent in it.

When Melinoe gripped onto Mr Skelton, who was Thanatos' favourite toy the little godling screamed and flared violently in annoyance, ripping the toy out of his sister's grip. The scared and confused baby goddess cried in distress, screaming the House of Hades down like a banshee earning Thanatos another time out..

The moment Melinoe learned to crawl the little goddess would follow her brother around the throne room, clearly wanting to be a part of whatever game he had been playing with his toys on the floor.

'Go away!' Had been Thanatos' initial reaction, complete with little scowl and protectively snatching up his toys, toddling away from his sister. The little pale-blue skinned goddess would only blink her big green eyes bewildered, clearly not understanding why her brother was behaving like this. She would then follow him and the same thing would happen. Eventually when Thanatos realised that he was not going to get any peace on the floor the fiery godling would climb up onto the chessboard just to get away from her. Melinoe would then whimper, wanting to be with her brother but unable to get there.. It was usually Hades that had to calm her down in the end. The little goddess was proving herself to be quite daddy's girl… mommy could calm her down easily enough but she liked it best when daddy did it.

As Melinoe reached six month the little goddess could now slip easily through the bars of her crib by turning her body into smoky mass just like her father could. Even though she could not walk yet the little goddess could easily hover a few feet in the air, her feet becoming a mass of bluish smoke to match her floor length baby chiton. Her hair didn't turn into flames, instead it swirled and moved as Melinoe did, like it was caught in some unfelt draft of air. This made it harder for Thanatos to get away from his sister since now she could follow him almost anywhere he went, the only way he could escape was by running off in a blur of flames and losing her because she wasn't fast enough to keep up with him.

By the time Melinoe could stand on her own two feet Thanatos was three years old, she even tried to hug him but the little golden flame-haired god only glowered at her and shoved her roughly to the floor before stalking off. Melinoe had long stopped crying when her brother rejected her but she still pulled a sad little expression every time he hurt her feelings. The little pale-bluish-grey goddess took her fist steps just as spring was arriving once more and as soon as she had mastered walking the little goddess followed her brother everywhere, much to his annoyance.

* * *

As Melinoe reached eighteen months old the 'summer slump' was well underway. The little goddess still hadn't uttered a single syllable or even made any kind of noise that sounded like an attempt to talk. Although her parents didn't want to rush her they were concerned about her silence. There was no reason for her not to ba able to talk, she had four milk teeth which were square in shape like her mother's, three at the front of her mouth, one at the side and a nub or two forming behind the gums. Most godly babies had uttered their first sentences by now but Melinoe was keeping schtum. Hades didn't mind it as much as his wife, quite frankly after all the back-chat he got off of his moody flame-haired son these days 'daddy's li'l shnookums' could stay quiet for as long as she liked.

Persephone was putting the little goddess down in the crib for the night when Hades appeared out of a curl of smoke behind her. Instantly the fiery god's arms melted into smoky tendrils that slid themselves up his wife's hips before his arms and fingers resolidified and curled themselves around her waist. Persephone sighed as she lent back into his chest and turned her face towards him, pulling her eyes away from her sleeping daughter.

'Did you tell Thanatos a story?' The white-skinned goddess asked her husband gently.

'Yup..' Hades drawled lazily as the fingers of one arm continued to stroke her hip playfully. '-told him the story of Tantalus and then told him if he didn't start behaving himself I was gonna do that to him..'

'_Hades!_' Persephone elbowed her husband in the ribs as the fiery god snickered in amusement. 'You'll warp him saying things like that..' The fiery god winced painfully before responding.

'_Ahh_, I only meant it as a joke baby..' He intoned lazily. '-do I look like Cronos to you?'

'Hmm..' Persephone shook her head in response to her husband, smiling slightly amused by him. '-I still wish you wouldn't say things like that, we've got enough problems with Than as it is..'

'Sephy, re-_lax.._' Hades let go of his wife and swished his arms lazily to illustrate his point. '-the kid is just actin' out right now..' He then turned away from a sleeping Melinoe and wrapped an arm around his wife's shoulders, leading her towards the exit of their daughter's room. '-he just needs time to get used to her.' Persephone looked doubtful before sighing heavily.

'I guess your right sweetie..' She agreed reluctantly, believing that deep down Thanatos wouldn't do anything to harm his sister.

'Course I am..' Hades drawled guiding his wife out of the room in a gentlemanly fashion. '-I mean. it's not like he's ever tried to get rid of her is it?' The fiery god shut the door plunging the room into darkness as their two voices disappeared down the hallway after putting their kids to bed.

Immediately two large round yellow eyes appeared in the darkened doorway and three year old Thanatos melted into the room from the shadows with a nasty leer across his face. He glided across the floor like a ghost before climbing up into his sister's crib. He then leered down at Melinoe with malicious intent.

'Hello little sista..' He uttered in a cool voice before seizing her and vanishing in a puff of black, taking the pale-blue goddess with him.

* * *

When Persephone came into the room a little while later to check on their little girl, this was the first month they had moved her into her own room and the Underworld couple liked to check on her during the night. So far there had been no problems but Melinoe was much more active at night than she was during the day, often giggling to herself in the dark.

The moment the white-skinned Queen of the Underworld spotted the empty crib with the baby's navy blanket pushed back. Persephone dropped the bottle of divine breast milk and it's smash was drowned out by her scream of horror.

'_Ahhhhh!_'

The next second Hades appeared into the room looking both surprised and panicked by his wife's out burst.

'What? What? What is it Sephy?' He asked her instantly, his eyes suddenly widened as he spotted the empty crib.

'_She's gone!_' Persephone cried on the verge of becoming hysterical, tears already threatening her cheeks as dread filled her heart.

'Alright, alright..' Hades sounded gently, rubbing his wife's upper arms soothingly. '-let's be rational about this..' The fiery god knew that it was possible for the little goddess to crawl through the solid bars of her crib by becoming transparent. She could just be in the room somewhere. '-she's just a baby, she couldn't have got far..' Hades was trying desperately to keep himself calm as well as his wife, he too could feel a lurch in his heart as he scanned the darkness of any sign of their infant daughter's white aura.

Persephone instantly shot out of the room and burst into their son's room.

His bed was empty..

'_Thanatos is gone too!_' She cried out to her husband and Hades appeared in Melinoe's bedroom doorway across the hall.

'Aww, _Fate Dammit!_' Hades snarled, flaring a light orange colour in annoyance towards his son, quickly deducing that Thanatos must have taken his sister somewhere. 'If that little pisher hurts her Sephy he's going _straight to Tartarus!_' The fiery god looked murderous causing his wife to gasp in shock.

'Oh you don't really think he'd hurt her do you?' Persephone sounded anxiously, her green eyes widening fearfully at his words.

'Right now, let's not put it passed him..' Hades murmured angrily, fanning his own flames of fury.

'_Hades!_' Persephone cried out actually becoming hysterical now and grabbing her husband's arm. '_We have to find them!_'

* * *

Thanatos' face was lit up by an ominous green light. His eyes were narrowed with vindictive pleasure towards his little sister who blinked back at her brother confused but not afraid.

'I liked it betta when it was just me, mom and Hades..' Thanatos sounded crossly, his face contorted into a glare of anger. '-you w'ecked ev'ythin'!'

Melinoe just smiled innocently and giggled when her white-skinned brother held her up by the armpits and away from him. The little godling's yellow eyes narrowed at his sister and glanced downwards. The little godling was stood on the edge of a cliff..

…holding little Melinoe over the swirling green Vortex of Fire!

His eyes were narrowed in disgust at her lack of fear.

'You're _stoopid_..' He sounded monotonously to her but little Melinoe only giggled once more and reached out an arm towards her big brother.

'Don't touch me..' Thanatos responded with disgust jerking his arms causing Melinoe to jolt in his grip. He then stretched out his arms as far as he could, intending to drop the little goddess straight into the Vortex of Fire.

'_Thanatos!_' His mother's voice screamed out and the little godling paused and retracted his sister a little bit so he could turn his head. He was just in time to see both his parents appear into the chamber out of a curl of black smoke. Persephone instantly ripped herself away from her husband's grip and took several paces towards their son. The little godling extended his arms again, hovering Melinoe over the vortex causing Persephone to gasp and stop a few feet from her son.

'Thanny please..' Persephone sounded in a low watery voice as tears rolled down her cheeks. '-just put your sister down..' The goddess collapsed to her knees shaking in anxiety. Hades only stood with wide eyes, staring at his eldest child in shock.

'No..' Thanatos sounded huffily. '-she started it..' The little golden-flamed godling's words made Hades blink with sudden understanding, then he began to very slowly walk towards his son.

'Thanatos..' He sounded in a low voice causing the little godling's golden eyes to swivel to his father. '-ya don't wanna do this kiddo..' He sounded reaching the same level as his sobbing wife and lowering himself to his son's level.

'I know how ya feel Than..' Hades tried again causing their son to blink. '-ya think we've been ignoring you, don'tcha?' Persephone whipped around to her husband looking shocked by these words then turned back to her son who now looked uneasy. 'Ya think if ya get rid of her it'll all go back to the way it was.. but it won't, it'll never be like it was before.' Hades spoke in a soothing tone.

'We're not ignoring you sweetie..' Persephone added gently and her son looked around to her. 'Your sister just needs more attention right now..'

Thanatos blinked unsurely at his parents, still holding his sister out into the Vortex of Fire. The little goddess was still smiling at her big brother completely unaware of the danger she was in. She wouldn't die in the fiery waters but the souls could make her suffer horribly.

'Give her to me Than..' Persephone sounded gently. '-give her to me and we'll go home..' Her voice nearly broke as tears were running down her cheeks. Thanatos blinked at his parents who both looked anxiously towards him.

'Ya don't really want to hurt her, do ya short-flames?' Hades asked, as if prodding his son. Thanatos turned his head back to his sister who only blinked at him before smiling, then amazingly the little goddess opened her mouth..

'Than'tos.' She uttered happily before letting out a pleased squeal at the look of sudden shock on her big brother's face.

'What?' The little godling blinked completely blown away by what his little sister had just said.

'Than'tos..' She repeated, a little louder than before causing Thanatos to beam widely at her pulling her closer to him.

'Didja heah that..' He sounded with a smirk to his parents who were both looking shocked but pleased by their daughter. '-I'm her fi'st wo'd!'

'Well I'm not surprised Thanny..' Persephone beamed at her son. '-Melinoe's crazy about you..'

'She is?' Thanatos responded, his round eyes widened with shock at his mother.

'Sure..' Hades drawled with a wide smirk of amusement. '-why do ya think she's always followin' you around brat?'

'I dunno..' Thanatos responded with a shy shrug of the shoulders before turning to his sister and pulling her away from the Vortex of Fire and setting her on her two feet beside him. Melinoe only came up to Thanatos' shoulder but she smiled up at her brother widely.

'You like me?' He asked his little sister causing the little goddess to take a step towards her brother and hug him tightly, resting her head of blue hair on his shoulder.

'Than'tos..' She sounded in a soft contented voice as she hugged her brother. Little Thanatos then hugged his sister back tightly, a smile spreading across his lips for the first time as he closed his eyes.

'_Ohh_..' Persephone cooed with a wide smile to her two children hugging on the edge of the Vortex of Fire. '-isn't that the cutest thing you've ever seen Hades?' She sounded as she clutched her fingers in an adoring fashion.

'Heh, _yehhh_..' Hades drawled in a moving tone trying not to look too emotional. 'I haven't been this _choked-up _since I bit into that frickin' grapefruit.' Persephone only shook her head and tittered lightly at his joke..

* * *

_**Little Notes:**_

_Heya Peeps, the title of this chapter is meant as a nod towards Melinoe trying to win her big brother around… awww, aren't they so cute hugging at the end? ^_^_

_As promised I did kind of skate through Melinoe's first and a half here just because I need to get the story moving along, but hopefully I've left enough Mel/Than cuteness to satisfy my fans.._

_Ok, Eos is the Goddess of the Dawn, she is the one who travels first before Apollo or Helios bring the sun-chariot across. I decided to use her Roman title of Aurora because her name is very similar to Eris (I suspect this is why they used Cupid, so as nor to confuse Ares with Eros, Disney like to simplify things don't they?)._

_I brought back Nyx and Erebus' arguing because, for some reason I like writing them arguing, it's funnier!_

_Also since the Greek Alphabet has no letter 'W' so that's why it's repersented as it is in Hades' off-colour comment to Hecate... _

_It's my b'day on Sunday which is why I'm updating this a little earlier than usual and for those who read H.o.T.T's sequel . E .TCT I won't be updating until after that day…_

_Stay tuned…_

_Ditzy X_


	20. Parenting Childern: Underworld Style!

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**Healme13: I think growing up with the Fates Hades probably fantasized daily about chucking them in the Vortex of Fire so he knew where his son was coming from.. XP**_

_**P.S. here's some more cuteness for ya X **_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: I think a story's got to be believable some level otherwise what's the point? I also believe that fanfics are better when they stay true to the lines set out by the original (this is why I don't get Hades/Meg romance fics come from, don't get me wrong I respect people for writing them… I just don't like them!) and when writing fics like Hercules I respect it more when you've got a little Greek Myth thrown in… I'm so old school that way X**_

_**DakraixCresselia: Hmmm… I actually don't know what would have happened if Than hadn't been stopped, would he have chucked her in or not? Little Meli might have just saved herself in the end mightn't she? X**_

_**DisneyPrincess: I should hope not! Yeh I too am the oldest and I can total see where he's coming from, you do feel like younger siblings are just invading your turf x**_

_**Stella Limegood: WB hun, I really didn't want to rush through their childhood but this would be one looooong story if I wrote everything down, I might write some ficlets on them when I've done this one though cause I just love Hades and Sephy's kids! x**_

_**MissSkulduggeryPleasent: Yeh, unfortunately Thanatos took it a little too far… and it was pretty nail-biting I was tense just writing it! =O**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Twenty:****Parenting Children: Underworld Style!**

The House of Hades was now more subdued these days. With the 'incident' by the Vortex of Fire behind them the whole subterranean family were now reaping the benefits of a peaceful household… or at least as peaceful as it could get with two temperamental pyrogods living in it.

While Melinoe remained quite shy and elusive her vocabulary grew with the passing weeks. She picked up sounds and words quickly with help from her mentor Hecate. Hades wasn't entirely happy with letting the witch mentor his daughter but even he couldn't deny that Hecate did seem to be quite taken with the tiny goddess… and Melinoe did seem to like Hecate better than any other outside-family visitors. With Melinoe doing so well focus was back on Thanatos who was still having difficulty in pronouncing Rho.

'Have you thought about letting me tutor Than?' Hermes casually asked Hades one afternoon after deducing the Thanatos' speech impediment could be fixed with a little coaxing.

'Hermes he's _fiine_..' The fiery god slouched lower in his throne, browsing his newest torture catalogue while purposely trying to ignore Hermes' concerns. '-it's justa phase, he'll grow outta it soon enough..' The fiery god rolled his eyes in mild amusement while flicking the page of his catalogue. Hermes rolled his eyes at Hades' words.

'There's no need to draw this out H-Man… just a couple of sessions and he'll be conjugating perfectly, I can come down and tutor him on Thursday's if you like..' Hermes added helpfully and Hades yanked down his catalogue and glared at the short blue Messenger God.

'For the _last_ time Hermes..' The fiery god snarled as his flames turned a light shade of orange while his skin slowly followed suit. '-he… doesn't… need… _tutoring!_'

The next second Thanatos appeared in the throne room with his afternoon meal and a carton of juice. The little golden-flamed godling set the plate and carton on the table before looking confused then conveniently calling out,

'Mommie I need a _fo'k 'n' kniiife.._' The next second cutlery appeared out of a small swirl of white orbs from the kitchen where Persephone was feeding Melinoe.

Hades smouldered out in shock and blinked at his son who was now clumsily feeding himself.

'_Soh.._' Hades drawled amiably snapping his head aback around to Hermes who was floating there with a smirk. '-Thursdays good for you..?'

* * *

…_Four years later…_

Just as the Fates predicted the little godling was now having visions of mortal deaths while fully conscious. Thanatos could now accurately describe the deaths of newly deceased souls as they appeared off of the gondola, but like all kids his attention tended to wander onto other things very quickly. As autumn arrived Thanatos soon found himself accompanying his father as the blue-flamed Lord of the Underworld was working the docks. The idea behind this was so Thanatos could learn about what his father did with the souls once they had died. Since the little god was one-day going to personify death itself this kind of knowledge would no doubt be invaluable… but naturally something else quickly caught Thanatos' attention.

Cerberus was nearby, growling as he dragged one of the living dead by the legs. The zombified body was merely digging his grey deadened nails into the ground, groaning and trying to drag itself away with no success. Two of Cerberus' heads had a leg gripped possessively in it's mouth while snarling and growling at souls that moved nearby. At the same time the middle head whipping around and lunging, snapping it's ferocious canines at souls who were too close for comfort. When the huge tri-headed mutt had finally settled himself on the cool hard stone ground and dropped the undead body, it tried to heave itself away. This made Cerberus' heads growl irritably at the zombified body's inability to submit and yank it back again.

This cycle of the undead restlessly edging away from Cerberus and the huge dog giving an impatient whine and hauling him back carried on for a while causing the seven year old godling, who'd been watching the whole thing with narrow-eyed amusement, to snort and clutch his mouth with both hands as badly repressed giggles escaped him.

'What the Tartarus-?' Hades sounded in a slightly irritable voice quickly realising that his seven year old son was no longer paying attention to what he was teaching him. It did not take long for the fiery god to locate what was so distracting and his large golden his eyes narrowed towards the huge three-headed grey and black rottweiler, unable to see properly from his position what it was the big dog was chewing.

'Cerberus?' Hades sounded in a firm tone laced with and edge of warmth, the three-headed mutt lifted his head at the sound of his master's voice, the undead body now dangling from his teeth. The zombified soul merely lifted an arm and began to sluggishly push against the mutt's jaw trying to free himself with an irritated grunt.

'Urhhh… _uhhh!_' The undead body feebly struggled against the huge dog who barely noticed this zombie's irritation.

'_Yeeesh!_' Hades shivered in disgust, Cerberus could be so disgusting. 'Drop it..' He continued in a revolted tone. '-ya dunno where it's been..' Thanatos snickered at Cerberus who merely cocked his head and bounced to his feet, thinking that Hades wanted to play.

'Silly doggie..' The golden-flamed godling laughed in amusement as his father flared irritably at the three-headed dog now.

'_I said drop it!_' Hades roared switching to a nasty shade of orange at his disobedient dog who was now doing a bouncy side-to-side dance, the zombified soul still feebly fighting against the three-headed mutt as it swung dangerously from side-to-side. Hades then glared at Cerberus before flying over to where the huge dog was prancing about pleased with himself as the undead continued to dangle in his teeth. The fiery god swiped for the zombified body but Cerberus jerked it out of reach, a happy bark sounded from his only free mouth.

'Thanatos quit encouraging him!' Hades bellowed over to his son who had now collapsed onto the black stone jetty in his mirth, the little godling instantly silenced but was still grinning widely as he watched with rapt anticipation of what was going to happen next.

'Cerberus..' Hades snarled once he finally managed to grip onto the undead body. '-_drop it! _Me master… you…' The fiery god strained against Cerberus as a tug-of-war game was insisted. '-_obedient pup!_' Cerberus then yanked hard and pulled the zombified soul out of Hades grip causing the god to fly backwards into the stone wall behind him, the force of the wall extinguishing his flames instantly.

'Oy..' Hades sounded wearily as stars hit his eyes. '-ya still ain't got the concept..' He slid down the wall with a groan causing his son to leap off of the jetty and rush over to where he was slumped.

'Daddy, are ya okay?' Concern was present in the little godling's voice as he blinked at his father with worried wide eyes.

'_Yeh.._' Hades sighed heavily sitting up and causing Thanatos to smile widely. 'I'm just peach-' The blue fiery god's words were cut off as two large drooly pink tongues began licking him to death. Hades flared orange and began cursing with annoyance as Cerberus licked him affectionately.

'Gerr-off me ya stupid mutt!' Hades bellowed as Cerberus' heavy-handed tongues brought him to his feet and squished him further into the wall. He roughly pushed the dog away with a sneer at the undead soul still dangling from one of his three jaws.

'Aww Cer_buh_rus is just seein' if ya ok too daddy..' Thanatos sounded with a gleeful boyish smirk as the large three-headed mutt barked joyfully. 'You a good boy, ain'tcha!' Thanatos sounded happily to the three-headed dog who was more that three times his own size. Cerberus wagged his tail at his pint-sized master before lowering one head and sniffing Thanatos keenly, knocking the little godling off his feet with his barn-sized black wet nose. As Thanatos was knocked into the green mud of the Styx banks the little godling only laughed with child-like glee and pet the soft fur around Cerberus' nose. Despite his enormous size the three-headed mutt was surprisingly gently with his littlest masters.

'Oy..' Hades groaned with a slight edge of despair, shaking his head at his son's mud-splattered chiton. '-and to think I turned down that three-headed piranha..' The fiery god then flared and yanked his son out from the mud. 'Alright, that's enough..' Hades blinked at his filthy son before continuing. '-aye-yi-yi your mother is gonna have a kanipshin when she sees the state of you..' He then swivelled around top Cerberus. 'Now for the last time Cerberus- _Drop it!_' The Underworld juddered violently as Hades bellowed the last two words at the top of his lungs while exploding with brilliant white-hot flames of fury.

Cerberus instantly let go of the zombified body and it instantly began to drag itself away slowly with a low groan.

'That's better..' Hades sounded with a smirk, pleased that Cerberus finally seemed to be getting the jist of how things were supposed to go down. Hades instantly returned his attention to his mud-splattered son.

'Ya see Than, ya gotta be firm if ya expect to get anywhere down here..' Thanatos smiled widely at his father before pointing back at Cerberus.

'He's doin' it again daddy..' The little godling sound and Hades flared as he spun around to find Cerberus lifting the undead body off of the ground again.

'_Hey! Put that down!_' He roared furiously at Cerberus then he blinked in disbelief before his facial expression twisted into a disgusted grimace. '_Awww, now don't roll on it!_' Thanatos only blinked before smirking with amusement as Cerberus' three tongues rolled in pleasure at the undead body that was being squished beneath him. The smell of rotting flesh covering his broad back.

'Lousy, stinkin' mutt..' Hades grumbled as his seven year old son continued to laugh at the large dog's antics. '-he's gotta find the most disgusting thing in Bones 'R' Us and roll in it..'

* * *

'Melinoe..?' Persephone's voice sing-songed softly as she peered through the bedroom door of her five year old daughter. The white-skinned goddess blinked as she looked around her daughter's gloomy bedroom, her navy curtains were shut to prevent what little phosphorus light the Underworld atmosphere had from getting into her room. The only light in the tiny goddess' bedroom was coming from the three-flame candelabra above her gothic-style bed in the middle of her room, this only spread a dull bluish glow over the middle of the room.

'That's funny..' Persephone's lips pursed into a pout of mock-thought, jutting one hip out and placing a hand casually on it. '-I could almost swear by the Styx I saw a little girl by the name of Melinoe come in here..' The room was eerily silent for a few moments before it was broken by the sound of girlish giggling.

Persephone's full cherry lips curved into a smile.

She walked into the room slowly and scanned it, looking for any signs of her daughter's white aura or a flicker of shadows. Melinoe loved darkness. Persephone had never fully understood her daughter's fondness for the gloom, it was probably something she had inherited from her father, but she merely embraced her daughter's oddity instead of trying to exterminate it like her mother would have.

'Hmmm…' Persephone mused thoughtfully with a small mischievous smirk. '-perhaps she's… _under the bed!_' The white-skinned goddess declared as she swept up the blankets from her daughter's bed and glanced underneath.

Nothing.

Melinoe's soft giggling swirled the room again.

'No…' Persephone mused lightly, they were playing Melinoe's favourite game… hide and seek. '-maybe she's… _in the closet!_' Persephone swung open the door to reveal the contents of her daughter's cupboard. A few plain navy girls chitons with silver skull pins and a few stuffed dollies. The sound of scuffling drew Persephone's bright green eyes downwards to find a cluster of dusty grey rabbits with hollow black eyes peering up at her from the shadowy recesses of the cupboard.

'Urh, just dust-bunnies..' The goddess sighed heavily shutting the door again leaving the dirt-rodents to it. Melinoe had created the shadow-dwelling little critters herself out of dust and they spawned by rolling in more dust and splitting off into two bunnies. Persephone had long since given up trying to eradicate them, no matter how hard she dusted they always seemed to manage to reform, so instead of trying to destroy them the goddess made sure the numbers were kept to a minimum as she did like a neat and tidy home.

Melinoe's giggling swirled the room.

'Oh well..' Persephone shrugged pretending to give up and perched herself on her daughter's bed. '-I guess I'm never going to find my little Meli..' She placed a delicate elbow on the edge of her daughter's footboard and lent her head in her pale white fingers.

After a moment there was a soundless swirl of light grey smoke which changed into blue directly behind Persephone, it quickly became strands of hair and a small but pretty girl's face formed in the mid-air. Along with this manifestation a small swirling hand appeared and touched Persephone's shoulder.

'_Boo!_' Melinoe declared as her mother jumped in shock. Persephone instantly whipped around as the rest of Melinoe swirled into existence and the five year old girl collapsed on her bed laughing amused. She liked scaring mommy.

'Oh Melinoe..' Persephone sounded with relief, clutching a hand to her chest as her heart beat faster. '-you always do that..' She shook her blonde head lightly before scooping up her daughter.

'Now come on, Than and daddy should be back soon..'

* * *

'Eat it..' Hades flared, scowling at his five year old daughter from the head of the table.

'No..' Melinoe shook her long silky bright blue hair which fell naturally just under her armpits. Thanatos only glanced over at his sister before turning back to his own plate, happily eating his worms and tomato sauce, sucking up the worms while slopping tomato sauce down his front.

'_Just_ eat it..' Hades snarled feeling his legendry patience give out. His pale blue-skinned daughter was so unbelievably stubborn sometimes… she must get it from her mother.

Melinoe frowned at the food left on her plate, she'd only had a couple of mouthfuls before giving up. The tiny goddess had always been a picky eater, unlike her brother who seemed happy to eat anything that had been placed in front of him… although that may have had more to do with the fact that Thanatos' fast feet meant he burned calories quickly and was always starving by dinnertime.

'Why should I?' Melinoe sounded rudely, looking up from her plate and throwing her father a brilliant green-eyed scowl, as if challenging him to come up with a feasible explanation.

Hades flared a brief shade of irritable orange before taking a deep breath and sighing returning blue and flashing his daughter a depraved smirk.

'Because if you don't eat it pookie, you'll never be strong enough to fight off Apollo's sexual advances..' Hades responded in a concerned fatherly tone, then stealthily sliding his hand under the table so his daughter wouldn't see it. He rapped the underside of it sharply causing Melinoe to blink confused at the sound of knocking.

'Uh-oh Meli..' Hades' eyes narrowed slyly before adding in a soft voice, '-there he is, at the door..' Melinoe suddenly looked panicked and began to hurriedly shovel the rest of her dinner into her mouth as her father smirked smugly.

'_Hades.._' Persephone sounded in a disapproving tone. '-your gonna warp her sayin' things like that..' She frowned from the other side of the table.

Hades only shrugged casually in response to his wife's concern.

'Meh, you got a better way to make her eat?'

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey Peeps, I'm soo sorry about the length of time between chapters… been having some major Stupid Block with my other story so I've decided to just work on this until I can figure out what to write…_

_Ok, as with before… a little of this chapter came from me but has been extended on or exaggerated slightly… other bits are just for fun because I'm loving this family fluff._

_Don't worry, the next chapter with signify that the plot is moving forward so again I will be doing some more year jumping…_

_Stay tuned…._

_Love Ditzy X_


	21. Discord and Dares

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: Yup, 'fo'k 'n' knife' is an actual four year old Ditzy quote… I had real trouble with the letter 'R' when I was a kid and I got help with it too X **_

_**DakraixCresselia: Uhh, this is Hades we're talking about, I think any way he can scare his kids into doing what he wants is pretty standard coming from him… LoL, Cerberus is both disgusting and cute at the same time! Just like a real dog XP**_

_**DisneyPrincess: Than and Mel are like two different sides of Hades… Than is more excitable, flamboyant and temperamental while his sister is more serious, cynical and gloomy… this also reflects in the powers they've inherited off of him too! X**_

_**Stella Limegood: LoL, Apollo the bogeyman? It could only happen in the Underworld couldn't it? Xp**_

_**Black Diamond07: Glad you like her so much =) X**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Twenty-One:****Discord and Dares..**

…_another two years later…_

It was the springtime celebrations once again, the one season the subterranean family looked forward to least out of the yearly cycle. For most it was a time to celebrate the dawn of a new year and to catch up with friends and family from other domains, but for them it was the time when Persephone was forcibly split from her family to perform her surface duties despite the fact that her mother was perfectly capable of dealing with the seasons by herself. It was Zeus who had set a decree which stated that she must be on Gaia's surface for the duration of spring and summer to ensure life continues.. Everybody knew that this decree was only forced into effect after the devastation left by Demeter when her daughter had first shacked up with Hades all those years ago. In the beginning Persephone hadn't minded so much, it had just been her and Hades and she often sneaked back with her mother's consent to see her husband. However from the year Thanatos was born Persephone had been finding it harder and harder to leave the Underworld. Because she was on the surface during the day the young Queen of the Underworld was missing out on so much of her children's lives it was unbearable. Her biggest regret was not being around for Melinoe's first baby steps, Persephone had been so upset when she learnt that her daughter had taken them without her being there to see. Both nature goddesses had tried to plead with Zeus on more than one occasion to let Persephone have a day-in-lieu where she could spend a little time in the Underworld with her children so she wouldn't feel so cut off from them during the warmer seasons, however the Lord of Olympus wouldn't have any of it. Persephone' position of Goddess of Life required her to be on the surface. The decree was final, no acceptations and no excuses..

So Persephone was back to square one, sneaking off occasionally to spend what little extra time she could snatch with her family. Demeter didn't mind being left to hold the fort, as far as she was concerned being present on the surface for the duration of spring and summer did not mean she needed to be there all of the time.

Today was officially the first day of spring and there was a definite sense of gloom emitting off the subterranean family as they approached the Great Coliseum for the spring festivities which were already underway.

'I hate this place..' Thanatos griped moodily.

'Me too brat..' Hades sighed heavily. '-me too.' Unlike her brother and father Melinoe chose to remain silent. She disliked Olympus just as much as the rest of her family, mostly because the place was to bright and cheery for her gloomy tastes and it meant that she would have to show her face in daylight which she hated doing… however she knew that it didn't matter what was said her mother would still make them go. As Goddess of Life spring was Persephone's season and even though every year she got no say in the decorations she would still attend the celebration.

'Oh it won't be that bad, while your father and I go and show face you kids can go and see your friends.' Persephone smiled at her two children.

Melinoe and Thanatos exchanged a sideways impassive glance.

'Mom, we don't have any friends..' The golden-flamed godling responded lightly. This made Persephone blinked confused and stop in her tracks again and swivel to her children.

'What about Eris, you get on with her don't you?' Persephone said.

'Urh, she's more like a stalker than an actual friend..' Thanatos smirked with amusement.

'Your cousin Proteus then. You hang out with him a lot.'

'Yeh, but it's more out of geographical convenience mom.' The fiery godling responded and Persephone sighed with exasperation.

'How about you Melinoe, you get on with Nike don't you?' The white-skinned goddess asked, thinking of Athena's adopted daughter and the couple of times she'd seen them exchange words.

'I think I'd sooner lock myself in an iron maiden before I'd ever become friends with her..' Melinoe drawled in a jaded tone with a slight scowl as she folded her arms.

'Ok, fine..' Persephone sounded with a frustrated sigh and placing her fingers to her temples trying not to get annoyed. '-then just entertain _yourselves_ until Hades and I come get you..' As Persephone swivelled back around with a sigh Melinoe raised a brow at her brother with slight hint of intrigue. The white-skinned goddess only shook her blonde head with disbelief before drawling level with her blue-flamed husband who was wearing a wide amused smirk after watching the little exchange between his wife and kids.

'They get this from you y'know..' She sounded as she turned to him.

'So they're a little antisocial..' Hades drawled still smirking amused as he wrapped an arm around her slim waist before leading her towards the entrance to the Great Coliseum. '-so what, it's no big deal, they're Underworld born, comes with the territory..'

'I know, I know..' Persephone sounded gently as they walked together. '-and I know you and I are outcasts in the eyes of Olympus but I never wanted the same thing for our kids.' The Goddess of Life flashed her husband a sorrowful look. Hades merely smiled at her before making a agitated noise.

'Sephykins, your startin' sound like your own mother..' Hades raised a brow causing Persephone to blink slightly stupefied by these words. '-the brats are tough, their resilient. Hey, they gotta be, they take after us don't they?' The Goddess of Life looked up at her husband as he towered above her with a proud smirk twisted onto his lips.

'Ohh..' Persephone groaned softly, her shoulders sagging in defeat. '-your right, I sound just like my own mother..' She shook her head resignedly.

'_Baabe_..' Hades drawled rubbing his wife's waist gently. '-it's not a bad thing to care about our brats _just-_' Hades twirled his free wrist to emphasise a point. '-don't go overboard with it, they gotta figure some things out on their own, 'kay?' The fiery god lent down and kissed his wife's forehead lightly while hugging her tightly.

'Uhh..' Persephone sighed tilting her head towards her husband and narrowing her wide green eyes and smiling lightly. '-you're right sweetie, like always..' She sounded lightly before pushing herself up on her tip-toes and kissing him on his smile.

Both Thanatos and Melinoe looked at each other and exchanged a withering look… why did parents always have to schmooze in front of their kids?

'Remind me never to go on a date..' Thanatos drawled to his sister in a low disgusted voice.

'Ditto..' Melinoe responded in exactly the same tone narrowing her own green eyes at her parents. The Underworld children smirked at each other briefly before something caught the gloomy daughter of Hades' eye.

'Uh-oh, Uncle Zeus at six o'clock..' Her cynical voice sounded causing Thanatos' round golden eyes to fix instantly on the tanned god who was heading towards their parents who were smiling at each other.

'Aw, what does this bozo what?' The golden-flamed glared at his least-favourite uncle in the entire cosmos.

'We're about to find out..' Melinoe responded in the same disinterested tone.

'C'mon Sephy-' Hades murmured in a low voice as he straightened himself again. '-we better make our presence known before-'

'_Hades! Persephone!_' A jovial voice sounded causing both Rulers of the Underworld to swivel around wide-eyed at the sound of their names to see Zeus in front of them grinning moronically. 'You finally made it… trouble with the wonkles was it?' He added conversationally slapping Hades on the shoulder causing the fiery blue god to buckle under the weight of the strike.

Both Melinoe and Thanatos glared at their uncle, they always hated it when he called them 'wonkles'. It was one of Zeus' pet names when referring to godly children.

'Nope..' Hades drawled lazily while rolling his eyes. '-must just be your brats that do that..' The fiery god threw Zeus a devious smirk and the god blinked before swiftly changing the subject.

Both Underworld children smirked at each other, the other gods could say what they liked about Hades but he always backed them up.

'So how's business in the Underworld these days?' The tanned god sounded amiably.

'Eh, so-so, can't complain..' Hades responded lightly before adding. '-except for the fact that my home's dark, gloomy and fulla dead stiffs..' Zeus only laughed and clapped Hades on the back cheerfully causing the god to wince in pain.

'Hah! You say that every year Hades!' Zeus then turned to his niece and nephew.

'Yet still you do nothin' about it, huh Bolt Boy..' Hades murmured, more to himself than anybody else. Persephone, who'd heard his words nudged him playfully so he saw her 'excuse-me-I'm-the-one-who-brings-light-into-your-Underworld' expression. Hades only threw her a sheepish grin back complete with casual shrug.

Both Thanatos and Melinoe had been watching the whole scene with a wary eye hoping that Zeus would just say his piece and ignore them… no chance of that now.

'Enjoying the celebrations wonkles..' Zeus sounded airily causing both Underworld siblings to raise a brow and fold their arms in sync with each other, not that their uncle was phased. '-must be nice to get out of the Underworld and see some daylight once in a while, huh?' He grinned at the two of them but the two siblings merely blinked unimpressed.

'Meh..' Thanatos shrugged casually as if he weren't that bothered.

'If your into that kind of thing..' Melinoe added her nose briefly wrinkling her nose in disgust. Zeus blinked at their response while Hades and Persephone were smirking at their kids.

'_Pfft_..' Zeus snorted in response to this. '-whatta you kids know..' He sounded in a low voice with a hearty chuckle then he put a large orange hand on their backs and guided them off to an area only a few pillars away where a few other godlings were sat together. '-now why don't you two go mingle with your little friends..'

'But we don't have any friends..' Melinoe sounded as Zeus pushed them towards their peers. The Lord of Olympus only laughed heartily.

'Hah! You don't have any friends, that's a good one..' The tanned god then disappeared into the throng of gods still laughing his head off. Melinoe only shook her head and screwed up her eyes at the faint afternoon sunlight.

'Uh..' She sighed. '-if any of you guys want me I'll be in the shade until sunset..' The little goddess then vanished into a wisp of light grey smoke.

* * *

Thanatos glared back at his uncle as the god disappeared into the crowd waving cheerfully towards someone he'd just spotted, probably someone new to antagonize.

'_Great_..' The golden-flamed godling drawled while running his white fingers through his fiery quiff. '-stuck in the kiddie-section, just where I always wanted to be..' His upper lip curled in disgust, he then turned around to face his peers. Proteus was the first face he saw, the pale blue god with icy blonde hair and aqua green eyes. He was wearing a one strap toga pinned with a shell, in a style almost identical to his father. The godling beamed at his older cousin widely.

'Hey Than, how's it going?' He sounded upbeat, nothing unusual there as Proteus had inherited his mother's ability to see the bright-side of everything.

'It was goin' just peachy until Uncle Zeus dumped me off in this section of the room.' Thanatos didn't even bother hiding his displeasure but clearly Proteus either didn't see it or ignored it.

'Yeh, granddaddy Zeus ditched us all in this section..' A voice who shared his infuriation sounded causing the godling to look over to a goddess with pale green skin and white hair with bright blue eyes and wearing a modest white chiton. She wasn't even looking at him, her nose was stuck in a scroll which she was still reading. Nike finished her paragraph before looking up. '-now, instead of getting some proper intellectual conversation from _sane_-minded gods..' Nike sighed heavily. '-I'm stuck _here_, listening to your mindless chatter.. _yay_, lucky me..' She ended sarcastically before turning back to her scroll.

Nine years ago Nike's mother had died giving birth to her and the old Titan Pallas, knowing that his child needed a mother had brought his daughter to Athena, his former student, and asked her to find a mother for his child. The blue armoured goddess was so enraptured by the tiny baby and sensing that this was her one and only chance to become a mother herself without having to loose her virginity Athena offered to adopt the child herself. Pallas was stunned for a few moments, thinking only that Athena would only want to mentor his daughter, but eventually the old Titan agreed saying that his daughter couldn't have a better mother, he even let Athena name her. Under Athena and Pallas the little goddess had bloomed into a bright and intelligent young girl who preferred the company of adults to gods her own age.

As Nike returned to her scroll twelve year old Eris appeared out of a shimmer of red and scowled at her nine year old cousin.

'Hey pleb, put the scroll away..' Eris sounded rudely while slapping the younger goddess over the back of the head. '-this is supposed to be a party, y'know where you have _fun_..' Nike only scowled and continued reading.

'Reading _is_ fun to me Eris..' Nike merely sighed, not wishing to rise to the provocation.

'Urh..' The red-skinned daughter of Aphrodite sighed heavily. '-you are so socially retarded Nike, I mean _come on_-' She snatched the scroll off of her cousin and made it disappear in a shimmer of red. '-who reads scrolls at a party?'

'I do, now gimmie back my scroll!' Nike responded sharply standing up and squaring off to Eris despite being a whole head and shoulders shorter.

'No.' Eris sounded amused by her annoyance, merely folding her arms and leaning on one hip.

'Fine, I'll get in myself..' She then vanished in a swirl of green mist to retrieve her scroll.

'You don't even know where I hid it!' Eris called out with a smirk. After a few moments Nike reappeared beside Eris with a wide smile on her face.

'Y'know what I like about your dear cousin?' Nike sounded sweetly before pulling out her scroll. 'Is your _so_ predictable..' She then turned and unfurled her scroll before adding as she turned away. 'If any of you immature delinquents need me I'll be with the adults, having a _real_ conversation.' She then left before Eris could think of an insult to fling at her.

'_Urhh_!' Eris fumed once she had gone. 'She's sucha tool!'

'Forget her Eris, we don't need her, in fact we'll have more fun without her..' Proteus responded brightly causing the red-skinned goddess to look over to the son of Poseidon and smirk.

'Your right Pro..' Eris drawled lightly. '-all the adults are distracted now and I found out that the Cerelia Celebrations have started in Rome and some jerk called Nero is having some fancy shindig at his palace, you guys wanna crash it?' The two gods exchanged a glance.

'Sure why not..' Thanatos responded lightly with a casual shrug. '-beats hanging out here.'

'Aren't we supposed to hang about here until our parents come get us?' Proteus asked unsurely.

'Your not scared of Po-Po, are you?' Eris asked him raising a neat eyebrow at the blue god.

'You've never seen him mad..' Proteus responded looking a little nervous.

'You've not seen my old man mad..' Thanatos smirked in amusement.

'I don't wanna see your dad mad, he's scary enough as it is..' Proteus answered solemnly.

'Ah, dad's a synch once ya know what sets him off..' Thanatos sounded waving off his cousin's remark casually. '-now quit bein' a cry-baby and come with.' The fiery god nudged his shape-shifting cousin.

'Alright fine, I'm in..' Proteus sounded reluctantly, giving into them. '-but only cause you guys pressured me into it..' Both Eris and Thanatos looked at each other and shrugged.

'Whatever..' They responded before gripping him by the upper arms and vanishing on the spot together.

* * *

The Ceralia Celebrations of Rome were well underway in the downtown district. The three godlings were perched on the very top pillars of Nero's palace looking down from the roof of the coliseum into the courtyard where his party was taking place. The extravagant party below looked rather boring, it didn't look far off what the immortal children's parents were doing on Olympus. Eating, drinking and dancing merrily to fast-paced music.

'_Aw_..' Thanatos griped moodily as he tore his eyes away from the raucous below them. '-whatcha drag us here for Eris? If I wanted to see people gettin' drunk and stuffin' their faces I'da stayed on Olympus..'

'He's gotta point..' Proteus sounded in agreement with his cousin and Eris smiled sweetly at the to of them.

'You guys are right, this party is kinda dull..' She then flashed them both a twisted leer. '-so whadda you say we _liven_ it up a bit?' She arched an eyebrow slightly.

'Keep talkin'..' Thanatos sounded mildly intrigued by her words.

'How about a game of Dares?' Eris suggested, her blue eyes narrowing wickedly. The two young gods thought about it for a moment before responding.

'Y'know what, screw it, I'm in!' Thanatos responded immediately having never been one to turn down a challenge in his life.

'Uh… I dunno guys, we're already gonna be in trouble for sneaking away from Mount Olympus, do you really wanna risk our parents wrath for a game of dares?' Proteus sounded unsurely causing both Eris and Thanatos to raise their brows in amusement.

'Uh, _yehhh_..' Both gods eventually responded together.

'For that I think he should go first..' Thanatos smirked widely.

'Oh, he is definitely going first.' Eris nodded in agreement.

'_What?_' Proteus sounded in panic. 'Aw, c'mon guys… I don't wanna be first..'

'Tough.' Eris sounded. 'It's already been decided… _now_, what kind of dare to give you..' She mused thoughtfully placing a maroon painted nail to her chin thoughtfully.

* * *

Despite his nervousness Proteus successfully carrying out his dare of shape-shifting into a Christian and gate-crashing the party. The Romans reacted just as Eris and Thanatos hoped they would, with Christians being a very unpopular religion they chased Proteus down with torches and pitchforks screaming curses in Latin. Both Eris and Thanatos only guffawed as Proteus raced from the scene before eventually diving into an ally and changing into a cat, letting the enraged party guests pass before returning to find his friends in a fit of giggles at his expense.

'Ahh..' Eris sounded cheerfully eventually managing to wipe her tears of amusement away from her eyes. '-Christianity, it'll never last..' She sighed amiably.

Eris was next, her dare was simple… to cause some serious discord between a group of the guests at Nero's bash. This was easy with the numerous amount of greedy guests and the goddess returned after ten minutes with a wide smirk on her face.

'Alright Than it's your turn..' Eris sounded amiably. '-for your dare I want you to-' Thanatos instantly held up a hand and shushed her.

'Hold that thought..' He sounded gazing down at the courtyard. 'I think Nero is beheading some guests..' The fiery godling then watched as the twist Nero did indeed behead some of the guests that Eris had 'influenced' into starting the riot a few moments before.

'Uh, Eris you do realise you single-handedly killed them..' Proteus sounded barely able to watch the executions.

'Yeh, and?' Eris turned to him as Thanatos vanished into smoky shadow to go and guide the dead souls to the Underworld.

'Don't you feel bad about it?' Proteus blinked in amazement. Eris blinked at him then shook her head.

'Nah, I actually feel pretty good..' She said lightly to him and the son of Poseidon pulled a sickened expression. Thanatos returned a moment later and beamed at the two gods beside him.

'So what's my dare then?' He asked amiably as he was twirling the scythe, he had found it at his grandmother's house when he was six and never let it go, then causing it to vanish into a puff of black smoke.

'Start a fire by the Caperna Gate where the Cerelia Celebrations are going down..' Eris threw the fiery god a twisted leer and raised her brows waiting for a reaction.

Proteus' jaw dropped at this statement… she didn't really expect him to follow through did she?

'Whoa, whoa, whoa..' Thanatos sounded then held up his hands in the letter Tau. '-time out… I thought this dare game was just for disruptin' Nero's party..' He folded his arms and threw Eris a raised brow.

'Urh, that's getting boring, it's time for some screaming…' Eris purred and fluttered her eyelashes at Thanatos.

'Uh-uh, no way, what kinda god do you think I am?' He sounded stubbornly turned away. Eris only moved closer to Thanatos and applied some of her natural allure which she'd inherited off of her mother.

'Oh, come on Than..' She purred enticingly as she ran a finger over his chest. '-this will be more exciting..'

'Nope not buyin' it toots..' Thanatos sounded but his eye opened a tiny amount as the pretty goddess pressed herself to him, clutching his arm and throwing him an adoring look.

'_C'mon_, that piffy party isn't much of a challenge for a god like you..' She sounded causing Thanatos' golden quiff to ripple. He winked an eye fully open at this. '-you're a great god Than, you need a decent challenge, so whadda you say, will you do it… for me..' She threw him her most adorable wide-eyed begging look.

'_Uhh_.. ok.' Thanatos sounded vaguely, only realising he'd agreed when Proteus reacted.

'Eris, you can't make him do this..' Proteus sounded outraged and actually balled his fists in annoyance at her.

'_Urh_..' Thanatos groaned inwardly, unable to believe that Eris had seduced him just to get her own way. '-it's a bit late now Pro, I already agreed to do it.'

'Hey, there's no shame in wussing out!' Proteus sounded but Thanatos shook his head swiftly causing his flames to billow.

'Huh, maybe not for you..' Eris sounded derisively with a disapproving sniff.

'No, no, I said I'd do it and I'm a god of my word..' The fiery godling sighed resignedly before he then vanished into a puff of black smoke to go and carry out his dare.

'I can't believe you tricked him into doing this dare..' Proteus snarled in a low voice at Eris.

'Yeh, well, I'm not a nice goddess so get over it..' Eris sounded rolling her lavender blue eyes at him.

* * *

Perhaps it was the unusual warmth of that day…

Or perhaps it was because of all the flammable Cerelia decorations made it easier for flames to spread…

Whatever it was, it was just unlucky that the small blaze that Thanatos had started in a haystack chariot spread quickly through the Caperna Gate to the rest of the downtown district of Rome. First the fire spread through the lower more open spaces of the plaza, then assisted by a breeze it climbed up towards the hill before retreating to attack the lower plaza again. The three immortal children could only watch completely awe-struck as Thanatos' flames continued mercilessly, out-stripping any method the mortal Romans used to try and contain this wild fire.

The air was filled with the sound of screaming women, helpless old and young, mortals who were attempting to save only themselves and others who were unselfishly trying to assist invalids or waiting for more to come. Fugitives and lingerers alike… all of them caught up in the confusion of this intense, unstoppable fire.

Eris glanced over at Proteus who was gawping like a goldfish at the destruction of Rome.

'Well it looks like Than's kill-count is higher than mine now..' She sounded conversationally. Proteus scowled at her words before both gods realised that Thanatos was chuckling in amusement. When they looked over to the fiery godling they realised he was no longer watching the great fire of Rome, he had returned to Nero's party.

'Heh, ya gotta hand it to these guys..' Thanatos smirked catching Eris and Proteus staring at him. '-half of Rome's on fire but they're still partyin' hard..' He smirked as chanting could be heard issuing from Nero's courtyard..

'_The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire! The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire!_'

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Ok peeps, bear with me as the plot is a little complicated at this particular point so it may take a while to write a decent chapter. _

_Ok first off... who's daddy ever had an seriously embarrassing name for them (and or their sibling)? Well me and my brother were known as 'wonkles'... and we hated it! _

_The actual Great Fire of Rome happened at the start of July and not April, but for the purposes of my story it was easier to shift the date, my defence is the same as always this is Disney they screwed up first (I did try to rewrite with the correct month but it didn't work out so I'm sticking with my original idea). Whether or not Nero or his men were involved in the fire's origin is unclear, as is the origin itself but it is making the basis of the second part of this story… we're finally moving forward people!_

_Again, keeping the theme here, Christianity was not very popular in very early A.D. (which I guess is when this story is happening now) in fact a lot of the very early Christians were persecuted in Roman Empire times… especially during Nero's reign (he was seriously messed in the head!) where he actually tried to blame the Great fire on them… although many believe this was just cannon-fodder so he had an excuse to execute them._

_The introduction of Nike, Goddess of Victory, in this chapter, again her origins have been twisted slightly to suit a more Disney-ish feel. In myth her parents were Styx and Pallas, this didn't fit my story so I changed it, and she was very close to both Athena and Zeus. It was stated that Athena did have a teacher named Pallas but whether or not it was the same titan I don't know… but I like to think so.._

_Until next time…_

_Love… Ditzy X_


	22. You've got me Burning Up

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: Melinoe is a lot like Hades, she is basically a more calmer version of her father but her outward appearance is much more like Sephy than him X **_

_**DakraixCresselia: Oh be grateful you didn't wake up to 'Morning my little wonkles!' *shudders* my dad was embarrassing enough… and as for punishment, you'll just have to wait for the next chapter XP **_

_**DisneyPrincess: No. it's not wrong at all, Nike's story is probably the saddest back-story I've written for a character (besides Persephone) but she had a good adoptive mother so I don't feel too bad. And yes, Eris was wrong about Christianity wasn't she, I'm not big on religion myself but I respect other people's right to believe what they want X**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Twenty-Two:****You've got me Burning Up**

Back on Olympus the sunset had arrived and the moment Apollo stepped off of his sun chariot his closest friend Bacchus pushed a goblet of nectar in his hand and gave the sun god a hard clap on the back, joyfully welcoming him to the party. Even though Bacchus didn't look as though he were very strong the blow caused Apollo to briefly wobble and straighten his gleaming red helmet with golden plume then flash the rotund pink god a wide grin and punch him playfully on the arm, this caused Bacchus to loose his balance and fall flat on his butt, spilling the goblet of wine he had been drinking all over the cloudy floor.

As the red liquid merely seeped through the cloud both gods stared at each other in a stunned silence…

…then both gods burst out laughing at each other, Apollo lifted Bacchus to his feet as the pink god retrieved his goblet from the floor. After checking it's contents and seeing it was empty the rotund God of Parties instantly declared that he needed more wine and the two friends headed towards the open bar.

From a shady spot by a pillar nearby an seven year old goddess with long electric blue hair, pale ghostly blue skin, full blue lips and a pearly white aura emerged with a jaded look towards the two gods.

'_Urh_..' Melinoe rolled her wide green eyes expressively. '-nectar, drink of the nitwits… _still_-' The little goddess sighed heavily and turned her eyes in the other direction. '-their not as bad as _some_ deities.' Over in a nearby corner Cupid and Psyche were making goo-goo eyes at each other and inanely cooing in a lovey-dovey fashion.

'I love _you_ more..' Cupid cooed to his girlfriend.

'No, I love _you_ more..' Psyche giggled back fluttering her eyelashes playfully.

'No you don't..' Cupid continued in his lovey-dovey tone.

'Yes I do..' Psyche replied in the same swooning tone.

'You don't..'

'I do..'

'You don't..'

'I do..' This playful fighting carried on as Melinoe pulled a disgusted expression at the loved-up couple.

'Ew.' Was the only sound to come out of her lips.

'_Ahh_..' A familiar voice suddenly sounded brightly behind the gloomy seven year old goddess making her head swivel around in shock to see her father standing behind her. '-here's where you've been skulkin', c'mon your grandma wants to see ya..' Hades then glanced around as if expecting to see someone else then blinking confused when he realised it was just his daughter standing there. '-hey, where's your brother?'

'Than went off with Eris and Proteus.' Melinoe responded in a slightly jaded voice folding her arms and narrowing her eyes at her father.

'I thought he didn't like those two?' Hades kinked a brow at her slightly confused.

'And you don't like half of Olympus but it doesn't stop you comin' up here..' Melinoe pointed out baldly.

'Oy, alright, alright, _fiine_..' Hades sighed heavily scowling slightly. '-I'll just make up some excuse for Than, now let's mosey your grandma's waitin'..'

'_Oh_..' Melinoe sounded in one elongated whine, repressing a shudder at the thought of greeting her insanely cheerful grandmother. '-can't you just make up some excuse for me too?'

'Oh no, no, no.. I ain't lyin' to your grandma _twice_, now move it!' Hades frowned and pointed sharply in the direction of Demeter causing Melinoe to make a low groaning noise in the back of her throat before reluctantly moving in the direction of her grandmother.

'Oh you are so cute my shmootzy little pudding pop..' A sickeningly sweet male voice caused a scowling Hades to roll his eyes away from his daughter and around to the two loved-up deities who were still cooing at each other nearby.

'Aww geez…' Hades sounded pulling a revolted expression before frowning deeper and yelling, '_Get a room ya schnooks!_'

* * *

'_Melinoe!_' Demeter trilled brightly at the sight of her youngest grandchild scooping the tiny pale-blue goddess into a bone-crushing hug. 'There you are my sweet little night blossom..' Melinoe gasped at the force of the hug but merely patted her grandmother on the back lightly.

'Hi grandma..' She sounded as Demeter let go of her and studied the young goddess with a wide smile.

'Oh, you have such a pretty face, why do you insist on hiding it behind all this hair?' Demeter cooed lightly while brushing Melinoe's bright blue hair behind her pointed ears revealing her high cheek-bones. She cupped her granddaughter's face and kissed her cheek lightly causing the little goddess to squirm uncomfortably.

'Mom..' Persephone sounded lightly deciding to step in and spare her child from anymore fussing. '-Melinoe can wear her hair anyway she wants.' The white-skinned goddess smiled at her mother.

'I didn't mean anything bad by it pumpkin but your daughter shouldn't feel the need to hide her face, she's as lovely as Psyche.'

'Urh..' Melinoe shuddered at this comparison then drawled in a slight undertone while flicking her hair back out from behind her ears. '-I would rather contract the black plague than be associated by beauty with _her_..' Persephone only smiled sweetly at her daughter while Demeter's attention was distracted by the fact that Hades had only managed to retrieve one of her two grandchildren.

'Where is Thanatos?' Demeter sounded curiously, looking around for any trace of her grandson's golden flames.

'He's off playing with his friends..' Hades sounded smoothly causing Persephone to blink in surprise at this statement, not that it was noticed by her mother.

'Well isn't that nice..' Demeter sounded amiably. '-at least one of you is making the effort..' She added with a faint smile causing Hades' flaming hair to flare an irritable yellow. He only got as far as opening his mouth and raising a finger to angrily point out he had no interest in making friends on Olympus when a sharp vibrating buzzing came from his chiton pocket.

Hades' previous annoyance quickly vanished as he returned blue.

'What the Tartarus..' He sounded confused fishing his pager out of his pocket. '-yeesh, it's spring what's the big IX II?' He muttered clicking the buttons on his pager to display the message.

'_Holy Nyx!_' The fiery god's round yellow eyes widened in shock as he scanned the screen.

'What is it?' Persephone sounded concerned by his expression as both Melinoe and Demeter blinked in surprise at his outburst.

'According to the imps about a dozen and a half souls just arrived in the Underworld..'

'_What?_' Persephone gasped out stunned before recovering and raising an eyebrow sceptically. 'That can't be right..'

'It's spring..' Demeter added with a frown. '-your intake of souls should be going down, not up..'

'Hey I'm just sayin whatta see, here, look for yourselves ladies..' Hades passed his black pager to Persephone who looked at the screen as both Melinoe and Demeter peered at the screen with wide eyes. All three goddesses jumped in shock as the vibrating buzz went off again and Hades snatched the pager off his wife and punched the buttons causing another message to appear.

'Oh, this is bad, this is seriously bad..' Hades murmured shaking his flaming head.

'What, what is it?' Persephone looked anxiously at her husband's concerned expression.

'Do they know why all those souls are there?' Melinoe piped up.

'No but the number of souls just doubled..' Hades responded before turning to his wife. 'Sephy, I gotta go sort this out..'

'But we don't even know why mortals are suddenly dying-' The rest of Persephone's words were cut off as Hermes suddenly appeared clutching a large bouquet of yellow daffodils which he promptly thrust upon Persephone.

'Flowers for the goddess of the season..' The tiny blue god's smile then vanished as Persephone's grimaced at the bright yellow flowers in her arm. '-yeh, sorry babe I tried to tell them you don't like daffodils but they wouldn't listen..'

'Thanks anyway Hermes..' Persephone drawled then with a disgusted expression she held the flowers out to her husband. 'Hades, would you?' She asked and her fiery husband instantly set the bouquet alight burning the flowers to a blackened crisp so they turned to ash.

'Thank you..' Persephone smiled sweetly at Hades wiping the last of the cinders off of her fingers.

'Persephone..' Demeter sounded crossly placing her hands on her hips. '-there was no need for that.'

'Hey, it's not my fault they can't be bothered to learn what kind of flowers I like..' Persephone responded with a slightly haughty look to her mother as she folded her arms tightly.

'But did you have to let him burn them?' Demeter responded instantly, scowling at her daughter. 'I would have taken them.'

'Hey Demeter calm down will ya..' Hades sounded lightly. '-it's the principle of the thing, ok? If my little wifeykins wants her flowers burnt then-' Hades paused as the vibrating buzz of his pager went off again.

'_Sheesh_, this thing's goin' crazy, like a debutante at a toga-sale right before prom!' Hades sounded and clicked the message on screen. Hermes meanwhile was distracted by something out in the distance that had caught his peripheral vision.

'_Holy Mother of the Gods, what in the name of Rhea is that?~!_' The tiny blue Messenger God threw a finger forward to a bright orange light glowing ominously in the distance over Ancient Italy. Hermes' loud outburst had drawn the whole cloud's attention and the gods all whipped around and gazed stunned in the direction of the light.

'It looks like a fire..' Apollo sounded breaking the silence.

'And that's where the city of Rome stands..' Bacchus added with concern. This roused much murmuring of concern from most of the gods as they watched from their cloudy home.

'That must be where all the souls are comin' from..' Hades sounded grimly as his eyes flickered over the light in the distance.

* * *

While all the other gods were talking in hushed voices of concern and gazing at the fire Zeus glowered towards Rome. Judging from the brightness and size of the light this was no accidental fire that a spot of rain could put out, someone had started this fire deliberately!

_But who..?_

'Hermes..' Zeus called out and immediately there was a swoosh of blue blur and the tiny Messenger God was beside him.

'You called big guy?' Hermes asked with a tense smile.

'You're a trickster god right Hermes?' The tanned god asked the tiny blue god next to him and Hermes pulled the sling of his toga nervously.

'Ah-hah, uh, yeh… I thought we were trying to down-play my felonious past Big Z..' Hermes stuttered, eyes darting anxiously from side-to-side.

'Relax Hermes..' Zeus chuckled at the jittery Messenger God. '-I just want you go over to Rome and see if you can figure out who or what started that fire..'

'Oh. Right away chief..' Hermes sounded with an immense amount of relief, he then vanished into a blue blur, shooting towards Rome before realising something and sprinting back to Olympus.

'Just one teensy question if that isn't too nutty big guy..' Hermes grinned at Zeus widely. '-what do I do if I find the one who started the fire?'

'Bring him to me for punishment..' Zeus sounded darkly, his eyes narrowing into blue pools of fury.

'You're the boss… uh, boss.' Hermes the shot off to Rome like a vivid blue bullet in the sky.

* * *

'Oh, man, oh man, oh man..' Proteus was freaking out at how fast the blaze was managing to spread in such a short time. '-we are so dead!'

'No..' Thanatos responded brightly, clapping his cousin on the back sharply. '-_they _are so dead..' He snickered lightly. Proteus scowled at his older cousin who didn't seem to be taking this seriously.

'When Uncle Zeus finds out that you started the blaze Thanatos he's gonna punish you-'

'And who's gonna tell him Pro?' Thanatos snarled jabbing him sharply in the chest. 'You? We're all in this together, if I'm going down I'm takin' ya both with me!' The fiery godling snarled, his yellow flames billowing dangerously on his cranium. 'Eris made the dare and you witnessed it without tryin' to stop me, that makes you _both_ accessories!'

'Oh my days will you both just _shut up!_' Eris screeched clasping her blonde head as her red aura flared in annoyance.

Both Thanatos and Proteus instantly stopped bickering and turned their eyes to her.

'_Nobody_ is gonna fry for this because _nobody_ is gonna find us here, ok?' The red-skinned goddess straightened herself to her full five foot height and glared at the two gods. 'We're just gonna sneak back onto Olympus and rejoin our parents and they'll never know we were here-'

'Hey! What're you kids doin' here?' The sound of a dangerously familiar upbeat voice sounded causing Eris' eyes to widen and her eyelashes to flutter in shock.

All three godlings turned to find Hermes fluttering overhead looking concerned, clearly the short blue Messenger God had not put two and two together yet.

'You kids shouldn't be down here there's a fire blazin just over the-' Hermes suddenly stopped mid-reprimand as the truth suddenly hit him like a bolt of lightning. His eyes widened in shock and he shook as he pointed a finger at the three godlings who were watching him figure things out.

'Wait… it was you guys who started the fire, wasn't it?' Hermes eventually managed to splutter the words out in a cough of disbelief.

'It was an accident-' Proteus immediately burst out but Thanatos clamped his white fingers over his cousin's mouth.

'_Shut up you shank!_' He hissed in his cousin's ear. Eris on the other hand merely rolled her large lavender eyes at Hermes' words then sighed and lent on one hip in a defiant pose.

'Ok, fine Hermes you caught us, what're you gonna do now?' She sounded in a bored noise checking her maroon painted nails.

'_Ohh_…' Thanatos uncovered his cousin's mouth and slapped his face with the same hand. '-why do I always have to hang out with the schleps..' His words made Proteus scowl at him.

'Well I'm just gonna have to take you to Zeus.' Hermes stated matter-of-factly to the three of them and the kids all stared with wide eyes at the Messenger God.

'Oh, nice goin' Eris..' Thanatos muttered to the red-skinned goddess in an irritable undertone, knowing that since his uncle had never taken kindly to him he would get the automatic blame for this mess. Eris only blinked at him as Hermes gathered all three of them together and they vanished in a shimmer of blue.

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Heya peeps, I'm on some kind of writing roll! The updates are coming quick and fast just now so relax and enjoy it until I get another bout of Stupid Block! I'm in the middle of editing my character profiles on my bio so that anybody who wishes to get a full understanding of my characters (for fun or in case the notes are needed if you wish to borrow anyone)… so far only Persephone and Thanatos are listed but others will be reappearing on the list soon.. X_

_Ok, I personally think the humour has been lacking in the last couple of chaps so I've tried to punch this chapter up a bit without taking away from the seriousness of it._

_Uh-oh… the kids are in some serious trouble now…_

_Stay tuned.._

_Ditzy X_


	23. Can you say Deep Doo Doo?

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_Dedicated to my 100th__ reviewer… I dunno who you are but I love you! ^_^ x_

* * *

_**MusicLuver78901: I do try to entertain and glad you love the story hun… Eris is definitely an interesting character to write but a lot of fun too, nice to see she has a fan X**_

_**Luu: Awww, your sweet… and I love you for reviewing ;* x**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: Hmmm… you'll just have to read on to find out my friend X**_

_**DakraixCresselia: Lol, I dunno… Zeus really doesn't like Than… but we'll have to wait and see won't we? X**_

_**Stella Limegood: Holy Nyx indeed! It would certainly describe this next chap nicely XD**_

_**DisneyPrincess: Ha-ha, thank you so much… your review inspired my chapter title! And yeh, Cupid and Psyche kinda went over-board on the whole lovey-dovey thing didn't they… but that's just how I see them, as to hopelessly soppy romantics XP**_

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Three:****Can you say 'Deep Doo-Doo'?**

'Yo, Zeus..' Hades sounded sauntering lazily over to the large golden-tanned Lord of Olympus who turned at the sound of his name. '-this has been fun big bro but I gotta go, y'see that little bonfire over there-' The fiery god smirked and gestured over to the glowing fires of Rome in the distance. '-has brought me an unexpected boon into my recent Soul Influx and…' Hades paused for gloating effect and Zeus frowned at him. '-_well_, the dead don't take care of themselves these days now do they?' His smirk widened to it's fullest extent, flashing his pearly white fangs to the golden-skinned god.

'Uh, fine, fine Hades..' Zeus waved him off impatiently as the blue-flamed god was clearly taking vindictive pleasure from the fire in the distance. '-go do your godly duty, I'll call if I need any Tartarian Services.' Hades, who had already turned to walk away, blinked at these words stunned before recovering at returning a sly narrow gaze to Zeus.

'Whoa, whoa…' Hades sounded as his smirk tweaked his lips again. '-did I just hear you correctly bro? 'Tartarian Services', do ya _really_ think it'll come to that?' He sounded with the barest hint of badly repressed glee, his fangs coming back into view as his smirk twisted into slightly homicidal leer… it had been a while since Tartarus had received any 'fresh meat'.

'Well they did burn down an important city state..' Zeus sounded in a loud irritated voice.

'Indeed they did..' Hades sounded lightly, then folding his arms and tutting in a sympathizing manner, fanning Zeus' ego which was keeping him angry.

'It's like they just _undermined_ me..'

'Oy, the nerve of some mortals, huh?'

'I can't let them get away with this..'

'No you cannot..'

'Urh, listen to me ranting on and distracting you from your duties Hades..' Zeus sighed heavily, shaking his head.

'Meh, whatta brothers _for_…' Hades waved Zeus' words off with a dismissive smirk before turning suddenly serious. '-but if you seriously want this schlub in Tartarus you call me.'

Before Hades could even think of disappearing Hermes appeared back onto the cloud with a very strained expression just catching the tail-end of Hades' words.

'Did you find out what started the fire Hermes..' Zeus immediately asked the tiny blue Messenger God.

'I did indeed and I brought the culprits here just as you ordered..' Hermes responded slightly uncomfortable then he immediately turned to the Lord of the Underworld. '-and F.Y.I Hades ya might wanna stick around for this.'

'_Culprits_..' Zeus instantly roared before Hades could even think of responding with anything more than a curious look to the blue god floating beside him. Both gods instantly turned to the dark look on Zeus' face as the cloudy floor of Olympus darkened to a dull grey.

'Hermes, bring them before me.' The Lord of Olympus uttered in a dark voice and the small blue god merely snapped his little fingers and there was a shimmer of blue.

* * *

All the gods present on Olympus had now turned with a curious yet wary gaze towards Zeus, Athena pulled Nike closer to her as Demeter curled an arm around protectively around Melinoe.

The next second three godly children manifested themselves out of the blue shimmer and landed in a heap on the cloudy floor of Olympus.

'Urh, get of me..' A young voice sounded irritably as the three immortal children untangled themselves from each other as the crowd of gods gasped.

'_Proteus_..' Amphitrite and Poseidon gasped out in shock and disappointment, recognising their own child amongst the three youngsters that had just materialized onto the cloud.

'_Eris_..' Aphrodite sounded with a slightly irritable edge identifying the only girl in the group as her daughter. Hephaestus only shook his head with disbelief, why couldn't Eris be more like her sister Harmonia?

Zeus glared down at the third immortal child, a white-skinned godling of around nine with a quiff of golden-flames.

'_Thanatos_..' His voice was laced with badly repressed fury so obvious you didn't need the gift of omniscience to tell he was livid. On top of this Thanatos could feel the deathly glare of his father boring into him.

'Oy vey, here it comes.' The fiery godling sighed, bracing himself for one Tartarus of a scolding as Zeus' golden aura flared angrily at him as he remained sprawled out on the cloudy floor with his two peers who were both looking nervously up at the King of the Gods.

'I should have known _you _had something to do with this!' Zeus sounded in a loud and angry voice jabbing a large golden index finger at Thanatos who blinked at him then frowned irritably.

'What makes you think it was me?' The fiery godling responded. 'For all you know the dying souls might've attracted me to that place.' Thanatos folded his arms tightly but Zeus clearly wasn't buying this.

'Don't give me that phoney-baloney excuse _boy!_ _Do you think I was born yesterday?_' Zeus snarled at the nine year old godling.

'No, but ya sure as Tartarus act like it..' Thanatos uttered under his breath, glaring up at his uncle now. He just knew that this would happen… ever since Thanatos could remember Zeus had treated him differently to all the other godlings on Olympus, even his little sister. For some reason his tanned uncle never seemed to care for him. Perhaps it was just because he was so much like his father. But a niggling feeling inside Thanatos sensed that it was much deeper than that… like he was afraid of something.

'_What was that?_' Zeus roared infuriated causing Thanatos' round golden eyes to widen in an apprehensive manner. The Lord of Olympus hadn't heard what Thanatos had said but he had a feeling it was a jibe against him. Eris and Proteus kept quiet knowing that Zeus would get to them soon enough.

'Nothin'..' Thanatos responded quickly.

'It better have been nothing young man.' Zeus scowled at his fiery nephew. 'I don't tolerate insolence on my cloud.' Thanatos only rolled his eyes at this statement but it went unnoticed by Zeus as the parents and mentors of Proteus and Eris appeared, Persephone stood by in-between her husband and Aphrodite, the Love Goddess was scowling at her daughter while Poseidon was looking at his son with annoyance. None of the parents however looked more irritated by their kid's behaviour than Hades who was fuming a light shade of orange.

'_Alright ya little pisher what did you do?_' Hades snarled as he flared even brighter and flashed his son a murderous glare, Thanatos knew fine well how hard his father worked during the winter months and now these new souls were cutting into his personal 'me' time.

'Dad, I didn't-' Thanatos only managed to get out before Hades cut over him.

'Did you start the fire or not Than?' The fiery god snarled impatiently.

'Yeh but-' Thanatos only managed to say before his father groaned one long exasperated growl as his flames flickered brutally.

'Thanatos, what were you thinking?' Persephone sounded in a heated tone causing Thanatos to feel a sinking feeling in his gut but decided to tell the truth, if he was going down he wasn't going alone.

'_But mo-om-_' Thanatos suddenly whinged childishly to his white-skinned mother.'-it wasn't my fault, Eris dared me to do it!' The fiery godling instantly replied causing the crowd to blink in surprise, Hades' skin returning blue but his flames remained yellow.

'_Hey!_' The red-skinned goddess screeched from the other side of Proteus, suddenly all focus was now on the daughter of Aphrodite who's lavender eyes narrowed in distaste to Thanatos for mentioning her part in this.

'She pulled a power move-' Thanatos sounded irritably jabbed a finger to Eris who glared back at the golden-flamed god. '-and when a pretty face asks you to start a fire in Caperna Gate you don't say no you say: uh… uhh… ok.' The fiery god pulled a mock-awestruck look which resembled something like the face he had pulled when Eris had sweet-talked him into the dare.

'Urh… how dare you sell me out!' The red-skinned goddess hissed towards the golden-flamed son of Hades.

'Meh..' Thanatos shrugged dismissively, not even moved by her irritation. '-don't act so shocked Strifey, you'd do the same thing to me..' He drawled lazily as his golden eyes narrowed unperturbed. Eris glared at him before her lips twisted into a sulky maroon pout knowing what he said was true.

'_Eris_..' Aphrodite's surprised yet furious voice quickly caused her to forget her sulking and snap her blonde head to her mother who was glaring at her. '-I specifically told you not to use any allure on your peers.'

'Like it ever stops you..' Eris shot back to her mother.

'_I_ have more experience with my powers and I _don't_ go around using them to get what I want!' Aphrodite snapped placing her hands on her hips and shooting her daughter a nasty scowl. Hades snickered in amusement at her words.

'No… of course you don't..' His voice sounded with a derisive dry edge to it which caused the pink-skinned goddess to glare as Hermes and Poseidon briefly sniggered in amusement. Aphrodite turned away from the three gods with a haughty sniff and folded her arms huffily.

'And what was your part in all this?' Zeus immediately sounded in a firm voice as his sky blue eyes turned a fierce gaze to Proteus who blinked up at his uncle nervously.

'Oh he didn't do anything..' Thanatos sounded casually with a dismissive wave of the hand.

'That's not true..' Proteus suddenly piped up, instantly throwing his cousin an aqua-green-eyed scowl as his ice blonde head snapped around to the golden-flamed godling. '-I told you to just back out!'

'Yeh…' Thanatos sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose then looking up and rolling his round golden eyes. '-and like _I_ told _you_ Pro, not all of us think wussing out of a dare is acceptable.' The fiery god pouted at his younger cousin.

'Well, no offence your most omniscient one but if you _know_ everything why didn't you see this coming..' Proteus hissed back causing Eris to kink a brow and roll her eyes upwards.

'He's gotta point Than..' The red-skinned goddess sounded in a light sing-song voice.

'What makes you think I _didn't_ see this coming?' Thanatos asked raising an eyebrow causing both Eris and Proteus jaws to drop in a mixture of indignation and surprise.

'What?' Proteus gasped as Eris screeched,

'You knew we were gonna get in trouble and you did nothing to stop it?'

'Hey, whoa, whoa… some things must happen for a reason, alright..' Thanatos sounded in an irritated tone. '-this is just one of those things.'

'Yeh..' Eris sighed with an edge of irritation.

'Right..' Proteus rolled his aqua-green eyes with disbelief.

'Are you three quite finished?' Zeus' loud angry voice hauled all three back to the reality of their dire situation. Three sets of pre-teen immortal eyes slowly raised themselves to the fierce sky blue gaze of one irritable Lord of Olympus. The golden tanned god folded his arms firmly as his gaze locked onto Thanatos once more, eyes narrowing in a way he disliked.

'Well Mr Omniscient..' Zeus sounded in a firm tone. '-since you seem to know everything why don't you tell your peers what their punishments are gonna be.' Zeus raised his brows in a suggestive mocking look. Most of the parents blinked at Zeus surprised by his tone while Hades and Persephone frowned unimpressed by it.

'I don't know..' Thanatos sounded in a low awkward tone, disliking the fact that he was being put on the spot like this.

'Oh, you don't know..' Zeus snickered in amusement before addressing the assembly of gods. '-you hear that, the god who claims to know everything doesn't know.'

'_Hey_, I never claimed to know everything I'm not one of the Fates, ok..' Thanatos pulled himself up to his full five foot height and glaring at his uncle, sick of his snide jibes. '-besides they don't know as much as they like to let on.' He added with a smirk as his slipped his hands casually into his pockets and lent back slightly on his feet.

'Whatta ya mean?' Hades sounded cocking an eyebrow at his eldest child intrigued by this statement.

'Predicting the future isn't as easy as everybody thinks it is..' Thanatos replied seriously. '-there are restrictions to it, rules to follow just like any other godly gig… and one of the biggest limitations is freewill.'

'Freewill affects the Fates?' Hades raised a brow and smirked with amusement before leaning into his wife and adding, 'They sure like to keep that one quiet..' Persephone smirked in amusement but Thanatos merely rolled his eyes at his father's words.

'Freewill affects us _all_..' The fiery god responded in a fixed tone. '-it's the one force that no-one can control, hence why it's called _free_will.' The fiery godling continued, 'It's the force that drives us to be who we are, to make our decisions-'

'But the Fates-' Hermes interrupted only to be cut off.

'Can only influence your decisions they can't make them for you..' Thanatos sounded before turning to his golden tanned uncle. '-so _no_ I don't know what our punishments are gonna be, I only know that it's gonna suck and I probably won't like it..' He raised his brows with mock-derision. '-but hey, I didn't have to be omniscient to know _that_, did I?' Both Eris and Proteus smirked at each other as Zeus looked furious, his aura flaring at his fiery nephew as he ground his teeth. Most of the other parents and mentors present were looking shocked by Thanatos' rude behaviour. No god spoke to Zeus in that tone… even Hades and Persephone looked stunned by their son's behaviour, this would do him no favours and probably make his punishment worse.

'_Let's_ just get back to the main issue here.' Zeus sounded in a voice filled with badly repressed anger. 'You three left Olympus _unsupervised_ to infiltrate to a mortal gathering, am I right?' He snarled at the three under-age gods stood before him. All three immortal children nodded.

'Yes sir..' They answered together looking like disobedient school-kids.

'-while there, _you_-' He gestured to Eris who winced at her grandfather's tone. '-challenged this god-' His huge golden index finger swivelled to Thanatos who blinked. '-into starting the blaze that has now swept over Rome while _you_-' His finger swivelled back to rest on Proteus who looked as if he were about to faint. '-did nothing to stop them, is that about the size of it?'

'Yes..' Both Eris and Thanatos responded while Proteus looked as if he were about to argue back, however one glance up at Zeus' stern expression and the timid sea-god changed his mind.

'Yes sir..' He hung his head in shame.

'Do you realise that this is a very serious crime.' Zeus continued to rebuke the children in front of him. 'Not only have you three defied sub-section beta of the Decree of Maturity but you have also vandalised a very important city state, killing dozens, maybe hundreds of innocent mortals and injuring many more..' He paused to study them briefly before continuing. '-this cannot go unpunished.' Zeus turned to the parents of the three godlings who were waiting somewhat apprehensively for his verdict. The Lord of Olympus stroked his beard thoughtfully as he paced before all three godlings who eyed him warily, nervously awaiting their punishments.

'_Eris_..' Zeus sounded loudly, stopping before the red-skinned goddess. Eris blinked before lifting her blonde head to look at her grandfather. '-since you instigated this mess it's clear to me that you lack discipline, perhaps a few years in Sparta Military school will knock some compliance into you.' The red-skinned goddess' eyes widened in shock at his words.

There was a gasp from the crowd but nobody looked more shocked than Aphrodite.

'_No_.' She sounded instantly, knowing just how rough that school could be. Zeus merely waved off her cry of shock before moving onto Proteus. The pale blue god with ice blonde hair practically shook with fear.

'Proteus-' Zeus sounded in a firm voice. '-you did the noble thing by standing up to your peers but you still snuck away from Olympus..' Proteus swallowed the guilty lump in his throat keeping his eyes low, unable to look his uncle in the eye. 'Since you crimes pale in comparison to your peers I will leave it to your father to come up with a suitable punishment.' Proteus instantly yanked his head up in horror as his father's greenish-blue hand appeared on his shoulder.

'Don't worry Zeus..' Poseidon sounded in a cool voice. '-this little mutineer will receive a fitting punishment for his crime, I can guarantee it..' Proteus cringed in fear now, he dreaded to think what kind of punishment his father would make him endure.

'As for _you_..' Zeus moved onto Thanatos and jabbed a thick golden finger into the fiery godling's face. 'Thanatos Moros Chthonos…' The fiery god refrained from rolling his eyes as his uncle reeled off his full name. '-for deliberately starting a blaze and destroying an important city state while knowingly and recklessly endangering mortal life.. I have no choice but to charge you for Crimes Against the Cosmos..' Zeus placed his hands on his hips and glared down at his nephew.

The crowd of gods gasped as they quickly realised that the Lord of Olympus was officially charging Thanatos with a serious offence. Persephone and Hermes exchanged a worried glance, punishment for this crime could range from Olympus banishment to a stint in Tartarus..

Zeus ignored the hushed whispers as his hard, stern glare remained fixed on his fiery nephew before he finally spoke again.

'Your punishment is pending until further notice..'

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey peeps, as you can probably guess from my disclaimer I'm all psyched up over getting 100 reviews… so much so that I had to think of someway to celebrate. On my profile page (if you haven't seen it already) is a the starters of a plot-line written about the back-story of Hades. I'd love it if all fans of my fic would vote on the poll I've set up asking if they'd like to see it once T.i.o.T is finished (that won't be fore a long while yet, don't worry), I've been in two minds over writing this fic for so long but it would mean a lot if you voted… thanks X_

_Alright, back to the story. Some of you may be surprised by the fact that when Zeus sentences Thanatos he uses the god's full name. In Ancient Greece the gods did have surnames, but unlike the reason we have surnames (which is to know what family we come from) the gods surnames were another link in what they did or what realm they came from. The only thing I can take credit for is my version of the gods' middle names, their all other names given to their respective deities. To see the full names I've created for both Persephone and Hades, just go tomy profile page and scroll down to __**Character **__**Profiles**__.._

_Ooh, how is Zeus gonna punish Thanatos? And what is he afraid of?_

_Until next time…_

_Love… Ditzy x_


	24. Instigating the God of Death

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**Stella Limegood: Don't worry, bit more Fates for you in this chap… and if you can tag Than's voice your one step ahead of me (though personally I always relate Thanatos to Beetlejuice looks-wise) X**_

_**(My 100th**__** reviewer) AngelOfDarkness1959: Urhhh, yeh… I'm sorry about the dramatic end but it should make more sense over the next few chaps as the latest story arch takes shape X**_

_**DakraixCresselia: Thank you for thinking I'm worth a 100 reviews, means a lot… I know, it's scary when Hades and Zeus get on isn't it? If it makes you feel better he was only being nice cause he thought he was getting another soul to torment in Tartarus. Well your right to think Than's gonna get a bad rap X**_

_**Princess of the Sea: WB hun, long time no review… yup, Than is in massive trouble but don't worry, as always, Hades has a plan! X**_

_**Black Diamond07: Thank you… I'm glad your still enjoying the story… my profile page will tell you the full names I gave to both Hades and Persephone (I do intend to add Melinoe soon) X**_

_**DisneyPrincess: I don't consider Than's knowledge of the future malicious, he probably saw it as one of those things that shouldn't be avoided… I will try to get back to Eris soon I promise but the next few chapters are on Than and his parents x**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Twenty-Four:****Instigating the God of Death **

'Oy…' Hades sighed heavily shaking his blue-flamed head wearily. '-punishment pending, punishment pending..' The fiery god repeated Zeus' final words to his son as if mulling them over. 'Oh boy.. this doesn't bode well for the brat..' He sounded in a low grim voice, slouching lower on his side of the throne and placing his angular chin in his large palm thoughtfully.

It had been three weeks since the fire had broken out and the Underworld was heaving with the newly deceased and more arrived every hour. The fiery Lord of the Dead was up to his flames in souls and it was hard to believe that before his wife and kids were around he had once craved this kind of business. Now however, it was an irksome duty standing in the way of something much more important..

..his son's future.

What Thanatos had done wasn't really an issue for Hades, he had at one time or another pulled off similar stunts and schemes to increase business. Whether or not they worked was another story entirely.. Not that that mattered anymore since Hades had now retired from this kind of grand-scale scheming, choosing instead to focus on the few pleasures he had in the Underworld.. mainly his wife and kids. There were moments when Hades found himself missing the thrill he used to get from plotting a scheme, or the fervent anticipation of watching it unfold but the fiery god was more secure in himself these days and with his family surrounding him he no longer felt so isolated from other gods… these were things he wouldn't trade for anything.

But still, Hades was worried about what kind of punishment Zeus would bestow on his son. Clearly he'd had been unable to think of a suitable punishment at the time, probably assuming since Than was an Underworld deity he wouldn't think much of banishment from Olympus or be afraid of a stint in Tartarus. If that were the case he was right on both accounts..

'Sweetie..' The soft girly voice of his wife broke the god's thoughts, making his blue-flamed head swivel around in shock and blink at her. Persephone only smiled and leaned against the doorway leading to the board room next door in a sultry manner. '-everybody's here and waiting for you..'

'Urh..' Hades sighed heavily then flashed his wife a grateful smirk. '-alright baby, tell them I'll be there in a sec.'

'Ok.' Persephone responded with a sympathetic look to her stressed and worn-out other half before pulling herself back through the doorway. Since Hades didn't want anything bad to happen to his only son the fiery god had summoned this meeting of both his mentors and adult family to suggest a radical solution to save Thanatos from a fate worse than Tartarus. The fiery god then heaved himself reluctantly out of his throne to go and get this emergency Underworld summit over with.

* * *

'Alright people..' Hades sounded slamming a fist onto the solid stone table-top of the long board room table looking around the gods present. Persephone and Hermes were sat to his left with Demeter, Bacchus and Hecate also present. On the right hand side sat Nyx, Erebus and the three Fates. '-we're running outta time on this one.' Hades instantly turned to the blue Messenger God next to his wife. 'Hermes, is there anything on Zeus' position yet?'

'Uh-uh, no sir there is not, the big guy is still steamed up over the whole thing.' Hermes shook his head firmly.

'I'll say..' Bacchus piped up. '-he's not even givin' any hint to what kind of punishment he's thinkin' for Than either..' The pink God of Parties looked unusually down, he like everyone else here was worried about the little godling's future.

'Ok, that's alright cause I think I may have a solution to ensure that whatever punishment Mr High and Mighty bestows on the brat, he won't be able to lock him away anywhere..' The fiery god sounded seriously and while the Fates shared a knowing look the others blinked looking curious.

'You have..' Erebus finally sounded, kinking a grey eyebrow at his son.

'Yeh, now bear with me people this is just a suggestion..' Hades sounded amiably rolling his eyes upwards before swivelling back to the table and slamming both hands down as he lent into them. '-we give Thanatos his divine rights.' The god threw a deadly serious look around the table as the other gods gasped as one.

'What?' Persephone sounded confused.

'But he's so young..' Demeter added in a worried voice.

'Hey, I was younger than that when I became Messenger of the Gods.' Hermes smirked widely at Demeter and this seemed to shut her up.

'I know, I know, Thanatos is only nine and effectively I'm severing his childhood but think about this..' Hades sounded as he moved behind his wife and placed his long fingers onto her shoulders. '-_if_ Thanatos is declared God of Death then Bolt Boy _can't_ bestow a punishment on him that's gonna interfere with the Grand Design, can he?' Hades leered wolfishly as his eyes narrowed.

'But bube, he's just a little god, that's a lot of responsibility for a child..' Nyx sounded looking concerned to her youngest son.

'Indeed..' Erebus agreed with his wife. '-you don't want to be over-workin' the lad do ya?' The shadowy god rippled with concern as a large black hand ran through his grey shadowy hairline.

'Mom, dad, re-_lax.. _I got this all figured out, ok-' Hades swished his hands dismissively at his subterranean parents as he returned to the head of the table. '-I'll just portion out his tasks slowly so the brat can get used to dealing with the workload gradually.'

'But sweetie..' Persephone sounded unsurely. '-that is an immense workload, it's almost as big as yours, are you sure he can handle it?' The white-skinned goddess threw her husband an anxious look, although her cocky young son would probably relish the challenge she couldn't deny that he was still just a baby deity.

'He'll be fine my sweet..' Hades sounded warmly to her then adding brightly. '-after all, he'll still have his mentors watching over him.' Both Hermes and the Fates nodded vigorously at this.

'Darn right..' Hermes sounded swinging a fist in agreement.

'We've always got our Eye on the little flame.' Atropos responded as her sisters threw matching twisted leers. Both Nyx and Erebus smirked at their daughters while Demeter and Bacchus frowned trying to figure out if there was a hidden meaning behind their words. Hades only smirked widely and made a curling gesture with his fingers as if trying to coax her into his way of thinking while stating that their son would be fine.

'Well..' Persephone sounded in an elongated sound of uncertainty. '-your sure he can handle these duties?' She threw her husband a still uncertain gaze but before Hades could answer Hermes did.

'Hey, no sweat Sephy..' The tiny blue god beamed widely at his best friend. '-I've been training Than for the last few months and he's practically got the whole '_psycopomp_' gig duh-_aowwn.._' Hermes drawled amiably with a casual flick of the wrist. He was confident in Thanatos' ability to guide the souls down to the Underworld as the pair had been working on it over the winter.

'And naturally, we knew this day was coming..' Lachesis added brightly from the opposite side of the table.

'-so Thanatos has all the training he needs to start right away.' Clotho added rolling their only eye in-between her long blue fingers.

'All that's missing is this..' Atropos sounded in a low gravely tone lifting a pale yellow scroll up in the air. Everybody around the Fates blinked at it.

'A grubby scroll..' Hades kinked an eyebrow unimpressed from his seat at the head of the table.

'It's not just a scroll you _flame-haired twit!_' Clotho sneered at the fiery god who's flames bristled orange at these words.

'Don't insult me ya _wrinkly old prune!_' Hades snapped back flaring nastily at his sister.

'Now there's no need for a kanipshin-' Nyx began but was cut off by her daughter.

'_Fiery jack-in-the-box!_' Clotho screeched back to her flame-haired brother.

'Oh for the love of Gaia..' Demeter moaned placing a plump hand to her face in embarrassment. '-there arguing like a couple of two-thousand year olds.'

'_Buck-toothed old mummy!_' Hades roared back skin glowing orange now.

'_Enough..!~!_' Erebus roared out causing both Clotho and Hades to wince and swivel to him in shock while Nyx was shaking her head in exasperation. The fiery god instantly returned blue at his father's furious glare.

'Can I continue?' Atropos sounded, she too had a sense of irritation at being cut off by her younger siblings.

'Of course you can my dear..' Erebus sounded flashing his son a glare which clearly said 'pay attention boy'. Hades only flashed his father an oily smirk which vanished the moment Erebus turned away.

'Oy..' The fiery god sounded, pouting sulkily from the head of the table. '-gettin' pushed around in my own kingdom..' He griped as he lent an arm on the table and placed his long jaw in his palm while lancing Atropos a bored expression.

'This isn't just any old scroll..' The Fate of the Inevitable smiled wickedly. '-this will be Death's List.' She declared.

'Death's List.' Hades repeated jerking out of his huff and lifting his head to look intrigued by the scroll.

'Anyone who is destined to have a encounter with death will be on this list..' Atropos grinned at the god then added, '-and the threads must be cut in the precise order they appear to keep the cosmos in balance.'

'So wait..' Hades sounded looking confused.'-your going to have Thanatos cutting the threads on the tapestry?' The fiery god kinked a brow.

'_No!_' All three Fates responded as one.

'Thanatos will be cutting the souls free from their mortal coils..' Lachesis sounded. '-by slicing their silvery life-lines with his scythe-'

'-which you will embalm with the power to do so when you inaugurate him into the Underworld pantheon.' Clotho added causing Hermes to give a low whistle.

'Wowza, that's a lotta power for a little kid..' He sounded in a low impressed tone.

'So… Than's basically like a delivery boy, he frees the souls from their mortal bodies and brings 'em back to me..' Hades drawled wrapping his mind around the concept.

'Exactly.' The Fates responded as one.

'Hey, cool bean, I think the brat can handle that for now..' Hades leant back on his chair looking pleased with the progress they'd made.

'When do you want to inaugurate him then?' Persephone said in a soft voice, she still wasn't sure this was the right thing to do and she felt a little nauseous but her first born getting a permanent work placement in the Underworld she merely dismissed it as a slight sense of 'empty-nest-syndrome', her little boy was growing up so fast.

'The sooner the better Sephy..' Hades sounded turning to her now with a wide smirk. '-preferably before Zeus can make any kind of decision on his punishment.'

'How about tonight?' Hecate sounded causing everybody to swivel to her. 'We could do under cover of Erebus and Nyx while all the gods are asleep.'

'That would be perfect..' Demeter cried out. '-no immortal will intervene and by morning they'll all just have to accept a new member of the pantheon.' Bacchus nodded earnestly in agreement.

'It's a good idea bube, whadda you say..' Nyx sounded lightly, her hand gently stroking her son's angular cheek.

'Well..' Hades drawled thoughtfully. '-then it looks like we've gotta lotta plannin' t'do if we're gonna be ready by tonight..' The fiery god grinned widely at his fellow deities then added darkly. '-cause tomorrow, we'll have a brand new God of Death..'

* * *

'Thanatos..'

'_Thanatos_..'

The soft crooning voice of his father punctured the little godling's sleep causing him to groan irritably and pull the dark covers of his flame-retardant bed-sheets over his head.

'Wakey, wakey kiddo time's a burnin'..' Hades sounded in a slightly louder voice and Thanatos moaned and blinked a couple of times before blearily pulled down the bed covers and sitting up slightly groggy and a little dazed.

'Da-ad..' He groaned sleepily. '-it's the middle of the night..' He yawned, although the Underworld didn't change much during the different times of the day the gods were still able to distinguish the time of day.

'Yeh I know but this can't wait..' Hades then threw Thanatos' clothes at him roughly. '-get dressed and meet me downstairs sharpish, 'kay?'

'Why?' Thanatos closed his eyes, stretching out his stiff back while yawning. 'Did Bolt Boy finally reach a decision?' When the god opened his eyes he realised his father had disappeared again. The fiery godling shrugged casually and pulled himself out of his bed. 'I guess not..' He uttered to himself stripping out of his night chiton and tugging on his regular chiton. Once he clipped on both his skull pins the golden flamed godling dragged himself over to the door, sweeping up his scythe and dragging it along the ground as he wandered in a zombie-like fashion out into the hallway.

Thanatos' sleep deprivation quickly left him as he reached the final steps to the throne room and noticed the crowd of Underworld gods.

'Uhh… what's goin' on?' He sounded looking around bemused before both Hermes and Demeter swept forward. The first thing Thanatos noticed about his mentor and grandmother was the clothes they were wearing. Hermes was dressed in a dark grey chiton that matched his white one in style and his winged sandals, cadalus and hat were silver instead of gold. Demeter was wearing her darkest green chiton and her corn-leaf crown was darker too. Demeter only beamed before whipping out a handkerchief from her bosom then spitting on it and rubbing his face firmly in it.

'Hold still..' She uttered as Thanatos tried to escape her vice-like grip. '-your face is filthy.'

'Aw yuk, granny knock it off..' Thanatos protested trying to pry himself away from her huge frame. '-it's fine, I'm clean just lemmie go..' He whined before eventually his grandmother released him and smiled at him widely as he wiped his face with a disgusted expression.

'C'mon Than..' Hermes sounded brightly, lowering himself to the ground and standing next to Thanatos who was already the same height as him. '-today is the day you become a _true_ god.'

'You mean I'm gettin' my purpose?' He sounded surprised yet pleased.

'That's right Than my man..' Hermes sounded cheerfully causing Thanatos to make a 'get in' gesture while flaming widely in excitement.

'Aw swish, I knew I was gettin' it soon..' He sounded excitedly.

'A little self-control dear..' Demeter sounded with a gentle chide. '-you need to show your parents that your ready for this kind of responsibility.'

'Your right..' Thanatos composed himself instantly, his golden quiff of flames receding to normal. '-I don't wanna give the boss a bad impression..' He winked at his grandmother playfully before Hermes began to lead him towards his parents who were stood in front of their conjoined throne waiting for him. Persephone smiled sweetly while Hades smirked as his son approached them slowly with Hermes by his side. Once Thanatos was stood in front of his parents Hermes gave a polite bow and backed away into the small crowd of deities present.

'Thanatos..' Hades voice sounded as the fiery god suddenly looked sombre. '-gimmie the scythe.' Thanatos blinked but didn't argue, holding his precious scythe out to his father and the blue-flamed god took it in his hands.

'Alright..' Hades sounded loudly commanding the attention of every deity in the room. '-we're all here for a very special purpose, to welcome Thanatos into the Underworld pantheon..' The fiery God of the Dead broke off as their was a ripple of clapping at this before silencing it with the raise of one hand and a smirk.

'I think ya might know which job your gettin', heh, you've been preparing for it ever since ya were born..' Hades smirked at his son who flashed his father an identical leer back, he definitely had an inkling..

'With this scythe..' Hades held out the scythe in front of him in both hands, the cool metal curved blade glinted eerily in the dim light of the Underworld. For a moment it merely sat in his grip before Hades concentrated on it and suddenly it glowed strangely, it's appearance changing. The handle turned black and the metal blade seemed to lengthen and sharpen, making it look more ominous than ever before. Once the transformation was complete it continued to pulse threateningly as Hades passed it back to his son.

Thanatos accepted his scythe back, feeling a strange yet powerful connection to the implement as he took hold of it, like they were destined to be together. The fiery godling then studied his scythe's design curiously, it looked far more lethal now than it ever did before, like it could cut through anything..

'-you will be forever known as Thanatos the God of Death..' Hades sounded with a wide smirk to his first born son who beamed widely. Atropos approached Thanatos holding out the pale yellow scroll to him.

'I believe this now belongs to you..' She sounded in her gravely voice smiling at her under-study. '-your first assignment should already be listed.' At these words Thanatos unfurled the scroll to see two columns, the left labelled: _To Die_, the right labelled: _Dead_. As soon as the scroll was unfurled the left column filled with names. A few of the names glowed red and some of the names disappeared off of the list altogether, they were the ones who's circumstances had changed.

Immediately Thanatos grinned widely.

'Well I better get started then.' He sounded before vanishing in a billow of black shadow, up through the circular hole in the ceiling where dead souls usually dropped through.

'Our sweet-flames is growing up..' Persephone sighed as she leaned into her husband's chest.

'_Yeh_..' The fiery god sighed heavily curling an arm around her slim waist and pulling her closer to him. '-but he's still gotta long way t'go..'

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey Peeps… as you've probably figured, this chapter is all about Thanatos becoming officially known as the God of Death (hence the chapter title) a way of Hades trying to protect his son from the wrath of Zeus… this chapter is kind of the stet up for the next little arc of the story, I promise everything will make sense soon.._

_Ok, just a few notes here… the Greek God of Death's symbol of office was actually a sword which he used to sever souls from their bodies and not a scythe… the scythe is actually the symbol of the more modern day Grim Reaper who Thanatos is very loosely connected too (same as Hades is loosely connected to Satan)._

_Death's list is also a more modern day concept, in ancient Greece Thanatos used hourglasses to read when it was a mortal's time to die, when the sand of your hourglass had finished running it was your time…_

_I'd also like to point out that the Underworld take the appointment of a new member of their pantheon more seriously than Olympus do (Persephone got a huge party on the big cloud while Thanatos gat a small gathering of close friends and family) two reasons for this… one: the Underworld is a place of business so they'd be more serious about it, two: since Hades and Persephone despise the Olympian gatherings they probably wouldn't want a huge gathering of gods… the Underworld truly is a different place to Olympus._

_Until next time…_

_Ditzy X_


	25. Burdens an Bliss of the Lord of the Dead

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**BubblyButtons2me: Glad your enjoying the story hun! XD**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: I know! I really was on something that day, too bad I couldn't keep it up but never-mind.., this chapter was complicated. And you'll just have to wait and see the next chapter to see if things are gonna get ugly… X**_

_**DakraixCresselia: Hmm, wait and see on the Zeus front but yeh, Hades was really disappointed when he found out he wasn't getting to flame a new soul… just his son! XP**_

_**Princess of the Sea: So do I hun… over the years Hermes and Thanatos have developed a special bond and it should come into play soon.. X**_

_**Black Diamond07: You might be waiting a while for Melinoe, Than only got his gig because his parents were afraid they'd lose him but I'm sure you can work it out from the clues I've been dropping… and thank you I can't believe I reached 100 reviews **_

_**DisneyPrincess: Hmmm, you'll see Zeus' reaction in the next chap hun and Hades just wants his son to be safe from any serious wrath of the Lord of Olympus, I don't blame him Zeus was one cruel self-centred god in myth X**_

_**Stay70573: Welcome to the Review Crew hun, always nice to see a new name… a new chapter is here now so enjoy X**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Twenty-Five:****Burdens and Bliss of the Lord of the Dead**

Hades lent backwards in his chair and frowned at both Pain and Panic as they struggled to get the sheets to stay up on the little easel in-between them. It was summer's end now and the Underworld still had not heard back from Zeus regarding Thanatos' punishment. Hades suspected that the reason behind this might have something to do with Hermes, the tiny blue Messenger God had informed Zeus that in order for Hades to get through the mammoth amount of work that Thanatos had landed his father with Hades would require the assistance of his son. The fiery god had been grateful to Hermes for being quick on picking up on this and was glad his wife had suggested such a forward and sharp-witted deity as a mentor and guardian to their son… Thanatos was lucky to have him watching his back. However, now that they were right at the end of summer and most of the hard graft had been done it was only a matter of time before Zeus decided to issue Thanatos' punishment… it was only a matter of waiting.

In the meantime however it was time for the summer quarterly review, which is what the imps would have been presenting if they weren't faffing around with that stupid easel..

Rolling his golden eyes in irritation he glanced over at his son to see the God of Death-in-training lent casually against his chair, eyes narrowed in boredom and looking at a dradle he was casually spinning in front of him on the table top. The whirring noise the little wooden toy made as it spun across the solid stone table made the blue fiery god want to grind his teeth in irritation.

'Do I have to be here?' Thanatos' yellow eyes suddenly looked up to meet his father's with an irked glint in them as he caused the little dradle to vanish in a puff of black smoke.

'For the last time brat..' Hades threw his son an exasperated look before flaring irritably. '_-yes! _You _sir_ are in a God-in-_training _program_.. _that means your still training… _Duhhh!_' Thanatos rolled his eyes in aggravation and let out a reluctant sigh of indignation. He then propped his head in his hand and drummed the fingers of his free hand across the desk which grated Hades more than the dradle did before..

'Alright..' Hades' eyes snapped onto his two minions who instantly stopped what they were doing and flashed him a grin. It faltered slightly as the papers the imps had placed in the easel slid out onto the floor at their feet once more.

'Come on boys, I haven't got eternity..' Hades drawled with a light chuckle and a smirk before it immediately vanished. '-uh, whadda ma talkin' about of course I do, I just don't wanna spend it here..' The fiery god scowled deeply at the imps before pointing a finger and twirling his wrist expressively. '-listenin' to you two..'

'None of us do..' Thanatos griped moodily but his father only flashed a him fleeting look and chose not to respond to his child's comment. Both imps chanced a glance at each other before their eyes wandered to the mess of papers at their feet.

'So…' Hades sounded keenly, leaning forward towards his minions at the far end. '-how is business, hmm?'

'Everything's coming up Asphodel your morbidness..' Pain uttered with a wide smile as Panic quickly scooped up the papers and positioned them back on the easel while praying they stayed put.

'Heh, flame-kissing little yutzes..' Hades drawled slouching down lower in his seat and smirking pleased with this news. '-ok, details, how 'bout some details..'

'Well..' Panic sounded smiling widely. '-you'll be pleased to know that thanks to Thanatos' little mishap during the Ceralia Celebrations this spring-'

'_Urh_.. not this again, can't we just get over it already.' The flame-haired godling sighed irritably, getting sick and tired of hearing about how he had managed to destroy a city state. Thanatos suddenly pushed his seat back getting to his feet, intending to just disappear in a billow of smoke and resume collecting the few souls left on his list but as he got to his feet his Hades large golden eyes snapped onto him.

'_Thanatos_..' The fiery god's brows furrowed in frustration as he spoke in a low warning tone. 'Sit down..' He gesturing to his son's seat.

'What for? I don't need to here this guff, my job is death, why should I care what happens to them afterwards?' Thanatos glared hotly at his father now, his flames rippling slightly as he spoke. Hades scowled deeper at his son and his flames turned yellow in irritation, he then rubbed the bridge of his nose and gave a low exasperated groan before responding to his son.

'Ok brat lemmie just explain this to you one _last_ time, capeesh? In order for you to do your job _properly_ you must _first_ understand what it is that I do.. now the best way for you to learn this-'

'-is by taggin' along with you and learnin' on the job, I know, I know..' Thanatos sighed finishing his father's sentence for him while swinging frustrated from side to side.

'Exactly.' Hades responded with a wide smirk to his eldest child. 'See, ya know all this already, why are ya actin' like such a little putz?' The fiery god lent into his son and kinked a brow at him.

'_Urh_, because it's as borin' as the Asphodel Fields..' Thanatos griped in a slightly whiny tone and folding his arms with a childish pout. '-none of the other god's my age are stuck down here learnin' this stuff..' Hades' face softened at this as his son actually reminded him of himself when he used to complain about being stuck in the Underworld while the other gods got to lounge around on Olympus all day.

'Oy..' Hades sighed reluctantly at his son's irritated expression then flashed him a sympathetic leer. '-look Than, I know ya didn't ask for this gig but your mom and I didn't really have a choice but to bestow them on ya now..' The golden-flamed godling blinked confused at his father's words before raising a brow questioningly.

'This is about what I did in Rome, isn't it?' Thanatos asked his father warily.

'Yeh..' Hades responded immediately. '-now I'm not mad at'cha for that, the Fates know I've done _a lot _worse than that, ok? But Bolt Boy is and this was the only way we could come up with to save ya from a stint in Tartarus.'

'He was gonna throw me in Tartarus?' Thanatos sounded gob smacked, his yellow eyes widening in horror at the thought of carrying out a punishment down there.

'He might've kid..' Hades responded calmly. '-he threw Apollo in there for a stint after he slayed the Cyclopes when I grassed up his son for reviving the dead..'

'What happened to his son?' Thanatos asked his father curiously.

'Eh, I think Zeus smote him with a thunderbolt or somethin'..' Hades flicked his wrist dismissively. '-I missed that part, got distracted by this smokin' hot nymph ina _real_ tight chiton..' Hades tailed off gazing at his son as Thanatos kinked a brow at him intrigued.

'Hey, don't look at me like that I didn't even know your mother _existed_ back then.' Hades frowned at his son who smirked in amusement.

'I didn't say anything..' Thanatos rolled his eyes upwards as an angelic smile twisted onto his lips.

'Ya didn't have to..' Hades narrowed his eyes in irritation.

'So did Apollo cry like a big sissy girl when his son was blasted by the lightning bolt?' Thanatos sounded eagerly, leaning towards his father keenly.

'You know it short-flames..' Hades smirked widely.

'_Ah_-ha-ha!' Thanatos started laughing gleefully at this information. 'Whatta schnook!' The golden-flamed godling then pretended to cry, 'Oh-no.. my son is dead!' He clutched his fingers together with a mock-forlorn look and held it for a small pause before both father and son laughed hard.

'_Ahh_, that's whatcha get when ya hook up with a mortal chick..' Hades sighed heavily once he ceased laughing and wiped a tear from his eyes.

'_Hey!_ Aren't you two supposed to be presenting the numbers from the last quarter..' The blue-flamed god suddenly snapped, turning to the two imps who had been watching the two pyrogods bonding. They both jumped in shock as Hades flared in their direction and as Panic hyperventilated with shock Pain scooped up the large scroll outlining the new arrivals and flicked the scroll towards Hades and Thanatos.

'As you can see your hot-headedness, the numbers are this year are through the roof..' The chubby pink imp beamed widely at his boss. His skinny partner nodded vigorously before adding,

'Yeh, we haven't had numbers this high since-' The green imp's words were cut short as a wave of flames washed over him causing his face to turn black with soot and remain stuck in his simpering grin.

'_Noh_-body likes a suck-up Panic..' Thanatos drawled in a bored tone.

* * *

Once the annual quarterly review was over with and Thanatos was back out reaping the last few dying souls left in Rome Hades hummed happily to himself as he appeared by the docks of the Styx. Melinoe, who was perched on the black jetty looking bored, cast a jade-yet-very-slightly-curious glance to her father as he approached her with a wide smirk.

'My, we are cheery for someone who's been stuck in a board room of incompetence all morning..' The pale blue goddess kinked an eyebrow at the blue-flamed god as a ghost of an amused smirk crossed her lips. Pain and Panic who had descended the long stairway after their boss scowled at the little goddess annoyance.

'Ahh, what can I tell ya Meli..' Hades only brushed off his daughter's sardonic jibe with airy nonchalance.'-not even the imps stupidity can ruin my good mood now cause _I_ gotta picnic date with your mother..' Melinoe blinked at her father before her eyes narrowed.

'Since when did you consider a picnic a date?' The pale-skinned goddess asked with a smirk.

'Ever since spring started and I got stuck in here countin' roman stiffs instead of spendin' time with ma wife..' Hades replied with a slight frown before it quickly disappeared as the god remembered why he'd come to see his daughter. 'Oh, speakin' of which, ya wanna watch the docks for daddy while I'm gone?' He flashed his daughter a wide persuasive grin.

'Sure… beats loafing around waiting for dusk..' Melinoe smiled amiably at her father who leant in and kissed her cheek.

'Mmmwha, thanks baby-girl you're an afterlife-saver..' The blue-flamed god straightened, beaming at his daughter before suddenly turning to the imps who were stood behind him on the stone jetty. 'Alright boys, Melinoe's in charge 'til I get back..'

'_What?~!_' Both imps' jaws dropped in shock at this statement.

'You heard him..' Melinoe sounded in a petulant drawl of amusement while flicking her incredibly long electric blue hair out of her face.

'But sir..' Panic sounded to Hades with concern. '-she's only seven years old.'

'Heh, yeh..' Hades drawled in amusement before turning serious. '-and she's already doin' a better job than either of you two..'

At this point Charon appeared with a boat full of the latest new arrivals to be sliced and brought down by Thanatos. Melinoe jumped down from the jetty post she'd been perched on and approached the souls.

'Hey, how ya all doing?' Melinoe greeted them with a cool indifferent tone, her arms folded across her chest as she leant on one hip casually. 'Welcome to the Underworld, home of eternal torment and soul-shattering disillusionment, so hey, enjoy your stay, ok?' The pale-blue goddess then turned as the horde of souls passed her and added cheerfully. 'If you need to forget your troubles I recommend a dip in the Pool of Lethe, you won't remember who you are but they _do_ say 'ignorance is bliss'..' As Charon rowed away once more Melinoe perched herself back onto the jetty post and pulled out the latest copy of 'Misfortune Magazine'.

'Aww man..' Pain grumbled. '-I can't believe we have to sit here and take orders from a little girl..' Panic cast a nervous glance to their boss who was still standing within ear-shot but luckily for them he wasn't listening as his mind seemed to have wandered off onto his wife.

'Ok..' Hades drawled happily, with a far-off exhilarated smirk. '-don't wait up people daddy's goin' a courtin'..' He flashed the three of them a suave leer before vanishing into a puff of smoke.

'Guys, your on doom service..' The pale blue goddess sounded flicking the page of her magazine casually but neither imp moved, instead they glared at her and folded her arms.

'What makes you think we're gonna take orders from you..' Pain sounded with an air of defiance.

'_Urh_, we can do this the easy way or the hard way..' Melinoe sounded with a bite of irritation, the magazine disappearing in a puff of light grey smoke. She then billowed towards them in a trail of smoke and stood with a creepy sinister smirk as her hair continued to billow with some unfelt breeze. '-your choice guys.'

'Pain here, ready to do thy bidding your pint-sized eeriness..' The chubby pink imp caved instantly, straightening and saluting while trying not to show fear in front of this little goddess. Melinoe smile widener at him before turning her eyes to his less than impressed green-skinned partner.

'What's the hard way?' Panic asked her shrewdly, not quite ready to submit to a seven year old girl as quickly as his partner.

Melinoe summoned a bright blue ball of light in-between her fingers that crackled with electricity. The green imp then backed away nervously before diving behind his chubby pink partner.

'We'll just go check in the newbies..' He sounded in a frightened voice, trying not to hyperventilate, the green imp then grabbed his partner by the wrist and they both seized their clipboards and took off after the dead souls. Once they disappeared Melinoe snuffed out the blue-energy ball in her fingers and giggled lightly.

'Heh-heh, daddy's right, just show them a little fire-power and those idiots will do anything you say..'

* * *

Hades appeared on Sicily inside the gloomy sanctuary of Persephone's grove. The fiery god smirked widely as he looked around the grove's eerie beauty, around the familiar jagged pomegranate bushes and thorny black roses, the slumbering night blossoms such as star-flowers and fire-orchids, the ghostly pink asphodels, pale blue forget-me-nots and bluebells dotted around. Around the edge of the small clearing in which Hades was stood were a circle of five tall weeping willow trees, their drooping branches laden with delicate and pale pinkish-grey flowers. There was the slight hint of fresh mint in the air along with the gentle fragrance of the mixed flowers around him. Hades didn't usually like to be among flowers, it was more his wife's thing than his, but the fiery god felt a special kinship to this gloomy little plot on Sicily… it was the place that had started it all, where he had met Persephone for the first time..

Because of this powerful connection to his wife Hades considered it his home away from home… and also made it the perfect place for a picnic date. The fiery god snapped his fingers, summoning from the Underworld all the delights that he had prepared earlier to tempt his wife into playing hooky for the rest of the afternoon with him. Hades chose the perfect spot to host the picnic, his favourite willow tree that showed a panoramic view of the rest of the grove and also shaded from the sun since his little Sephykins didn't like too much sunshine. He cast an approving eye over the set-up on top of the grey and navy picnic blanket before his leer widened and the god vanished to go and retrieve his wife.

In a matter of moments he returned out of a curl of smoke with Persephone in tow. The white-skinned goddess giggled girlishly as Hades smirk widened wolfishly at her confused yet intrigued expression.

'Hades.. what is this all about?' She laughed freely before gasping as her eyes caught sight of the picnic spread set up around their favourite spot in her grove. Her husband could be such a closet-romantic sometimes. The fiery god lent up against her and wrapped an arm around her middle while leaning into her left ear.

'This is about you and me..' He purred in a low husky warm timbre, his eyes narrowed in pleasure at the way her eyes widened and dilated with longing at his words. '-all alone in a _verry_ secluded area..' His finger curled around her chin and tilted it gently towards him and he lent into her intending to kiss her but Persephone placed a dainty finger in-between their lips and pulled back, her warm green eyes looked both lustful and flustered.

'I'm not afraid of being all alone in the woods..' She sounded in a low sultry voice which made Hades groan as he gently pulled her finger away from his lips and grinned wickedly at her, sliding his arm further around her and drawing her right up against him.

'Oh really?' Hades kinked a brow at his wife's words, holding her in an unyielding yet gentle grip so Persephone could not escape his grasp easily. 'Well anything can happen when nobodies lookin'… _anything_.' He repeated in a breathless whisper, his fingers running slowly down the small of his wife's back drawing a slight gasp from her. At this point Persephone couldn't resist him anymore, she pushed herself up onto her tip-toes and kissed her husband passionately on the lips. Her dainty white fingers caressing his angular cheeks lovingly and then stroking down his long jaw as her lips moved sensually over his. Hades let out a low growl and rubbed himself against her as she began to suck on his lower lip before he smirked and reluctantly broke off the kiss, feeling himself get hot under the collar only now aware of the fact that his blue fiery hair had crept down his shoulders. Persephone's eye fluttered open, her kiss-swollen lips still pouted as she looked a little perplexed by him breaking it off.

'Heh, it was just starting to get good sweetie..' She sounded in a breathless tone, her fingers caressing his chest playfully.

'Yeh I know..' He panted slightly. '-but we've still gotta picnic and your makin' me hot..' Persephone gave a small hum of amusement as his long fingers reached up to the hand still caressing his chest and lifted her fingers, kissing them and then guiding her over to the willow, moving the hanging branches like a curtain and settling his wife down in their usual spot at the base of the tree. Once his wife was comfortable in-between his legs and resting happily against his chest, nuzzling into his shoulder with a satisfied smile, Hades picked up some ambrosia and pomegranate seeds then began to feed it to his wife. As she ate he ran his free fingers through her hair, whispering words of endearment then kissing her forehead.

Smiling sweetly at her husband, who's flames were still burning around his shoulders, Persephone picked up a worm and twirled in her fingers before lifting it to her husband's mouth. The god smirked before hooking it in his sharp teeth then sucking it in and the worm untangled from in-between her slim fingers which dropped back down to around his waist. As he chewed slowly and deliberately Persephone kissed along his neck causing him to swallow as she continued along his jaw. It didn't take long for the deities to discover that what they were really hungry for wasn't the picnic.

The moment the food vanished in a puff of smoke Hades pushed Persephone down on top of the grey blanket kissing her fervently as his fingers slid down the side of her body. Persephone's fingers slid up his back as she moaned and pressed herself harder into her husband and caressing the dome of his head as his entire body was a billow of blue fluid fire by this point. The young Queen of the Underworld's golden hair was fanned out like a large yellow halo as the goddess looked up at her husband seeing his eyes narrowed with love, she then lent up and pecked his lips.

'I love you..' Her voice was breathless with the anticipation of what was to come.

'I love ya too baby..' Hades uttered back just loud enough for her to hear and Persephone's heart swelled, she then lifted her head and shoulders up slightly and pouted sexily.

'Show me how much..' She sounded in a sultry voice fluttering her eyelashes seductively. Hades kinked his brow before a smile twisted across his lips.

'Ooh..' The fiery god purred and slid a hand up his wife's thigh to where her purple chiton pin was and unhooked it. '-challenge accepted.' He then leant in and kissed his wife with intense burning passion..

* * *

A little while later Hermes flew speedily down from Olympus as fast as his winged sandals could carry him. After hearing from Demeter that the Rulers of the Underworld were having a picnic date in Persephone's Grove on Sicily the tiny blue messenger shot like a bullet towards his old haunt. He didn't really want to disturb Hades and Persephone on their 'date' but this was urgent and the Messenger God prayed to the Fates that he would not find them in yet another compromising position… seventeen years had passed since he'd caught them both butt naked in the Grove of Lethe and the memory of that day still sent a shudder down his spine.

The little blue god fluttered cautiously below the tree line trying to brace himself for the worst. But when Hermes caught sight of the subterranean couple they were not in the midst of a passionate clinch… far from it. The Underworld Rulers were fast asleep!

Hades was slumped on the picnic blanket only half dressed and laid on his back snoring lightly while Persephone was using her own chiton as a blanket and resting her upper body on his bare chest. Hermes sighed heavily realising quickly that he was going to have to wake the snoozing lovers as this urgent news just couldn't keep..

The little blue god then glanced around, looking for something sharp to prod them with before slapping his head with the realisation that he was still carrying his cadelus. Turning it around so that he was holding the two snake heads the little blue god jabbed Hades with the handle of his cadelus, knowing he risked a royal flaming for his actions.

Hades grunted at the sharp prod but merely turned his head sleepily away, waving this disruption off like an irksome fly. Hermes sighed heavily then jabbed him again, sharper this time.

'Urh..' Hades groaned in an irritable sleepy voice. '-come back later yutz..' Clearly he thought it was one of the imps jabbing him.

Hermes winced nervously now, clearly this was going to take a serious jab. He turned his eyes away and jabbed Hades as hard as possible.

The response was instantaneous. Hades' wide yellow eyes snapped open in irritance and the god sat up, immediately rousing his wife, flared a nasty shade of orange at this rude awakening and roared,

'_Whaddafreakin'Tartarusd'yawantnow!~!_'

'Hermes..' The fiery god glared harder when his sleep deprived eyes caught sight of the little blue god fluttering with the same kind of nervous expression that Panic was often seen wearing.

'Huh… w-what's going on?' Persephone sounded sleepily as she folded her chiton around herself and pinned it shut, clearly unsure why she'd been rudely awakened by her annoyed husband.

'Look I'm real sorry for disturbin' what looked like one swell nap cats..' Hermes began sweeping off his golden cap before replacing it and continuing. '-but the big guy has come to a decision over Thanatos' punishment.' Hermes looked strained as he said this, clearly he had no clue what Zeus had in mind and was worried about the fiery son of Hades.

Both Underworld deities instantly felt the warm mushy feeling of their earlier love-making congeal into fear at what Zeus could possibly have in mind for their son… it seemed Thanatos' luck may just have ran out.

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Heya peeps, I'm so sorry this chapter took so long to write but the details in this chapter were too important and needed to be done correctly. I'm pleased with the outcome…_

_Ok, a little hint at myth here but the son of Apollo in which Hades and Thanatos were laughing at was in fact Asclepius, the infamous healer that could raise the dead.. I'm kinda assuming that Hypocrites from World's First Doctor ep studied under him, he makes a comment on how his mother would have preferred him to be a fig-farmer rather than a doctor and as even though Asclepius was a great healer he wasn't the one who commercialized being a doctor and Hypocrites may have gotten the idea from him.._

_Ok, Melinoe's energy balls are supposed to be a sort of ectoplasmic energy sphere… ectoplasm being the energy behind ghosts, I'm trying to give the kids powers that suit their future careers and also tie in with what their mythological characters do.._

_Uh-oh…. It's judgement day for Thanatos now! _

_Ditzy X_


	26. Crime and,,, Punishment!

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**Vikishus: OMG, you read all 112 chapters?~! How long did that take you? I'm wagering a good few days at least! Glad your lovin' the story hun and welcome to my Review Crew ;) X**_

_**BubblyButtons2me: Wait no more! Next chapter is here!~! X**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: Oh yes, Pain and Panic don't exactly have all the luck do they but for some reason their loyalty to their boss never wavers x **_

_**DakraixCresselia: Yup, Than is fast turning into a mini-Hades isn't he. The idea for Panic's stubbornness came from the episode 'The All Nighter' when sleep deprivation made him suspicious about everything, I have that belief that it's just part of his nature and it's buried in there somewhere beneath his uneasiness X**_

_**MissSkulduggeryPleasent: Lol I love Hades and Sephy lovey-dovey bits too but with their two kids growing up they don't seem to get much time to themselves do they? Oh well, glad you don't get tired of reading because I'm not tired of writing them yet! X**_

_**Black Diamond07: Lol, that's if they don't suffer at the hands of Than's Touch of Death first! And read on for the punishment… X**_

_**DisneyPrincess: I think I'd rather have Melinoe in charge too, I wouldn't trust those imps to organise a piss-up in a brewery! And yeh, Zeus finally came to a decision about Than but it may surprise you.. X**_

_**Stay70573: Hahaha… Zeus sure knows how to ruin a good nap! X**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Twenty-Six:****Crime and… **_**Punishment?~!**_

Hades sighed heavily as he appeared on the white cloudy ground just outside the Great Coliseum at the pinnacle of Olympus with both Persephone and Thanatos in tow. If the fiery godling was worried about what sort of punishment his uncle Zeus would bestow on him he didn't show it, his expression was bored… pretty much the same expression he pulled everytime his parents dragged him up to Olympus. Hades and Persephone on the other hand looked very nervous indeed, Zeus may not be able to throw their son in Tartarus or seal him away indefinitely but their was a whole list of other dreadful punishments that the Lord of Olympus could bestow on him. Persephone's dainty white hand clutched her husband's muscled upper arm almost fearfully and every so often her bright green eyes glanced upwards to her husband's sombre expression, as if seeking reassurance that everything would be alright.. but the fiery god couldn't meet his wife's uncertain gaze.

Would everything be alright?

He didn't know the answer to that. Hades wanted to believe that Atropos, Thanatos' other mentor and guardian, would not allow Zeus to be too rough on their son but then again… she was one of the Fates. They were infamous for being unpredictable and with strange motives and logic for everything they planned, there was no guarantee about Thanatos' future. The fiery god stiffened his resolve causing his lips to twitch and his brows to contract into the beginning of a frown. He'd fight for his son… whatever Zeus threw at his son the fiery god would be in Thanatos' corner insuring that the punishment was just and fair. His son was going to receive more than just a slap on the wrist, there was no question about that but Hades could contest anything that involved Zeus' personal feelings.

As they approached the entrance to the Great Coliseum Hades felt his hand snag on something. His blue-flamed head instantly spun to find that his wife had stopped walking and taken his wrist in a firm grip, her green eyes were wide with fear.

'What's going to happen to our son?' Persephone sounded glancing at Thanatos as he stood a little way in front of them idly taking in the scene, her eyes returned on her husband still looking apprehensive.

'I don't know my sweet..' Hades crooned softly, clutching his wife close and stroking her cheek soothingly. '-but we won't find out standin' about here.' His arm slipped lower and wrapped itself around her shoulders silently encouraging her to walk onwards as he kept her near to him.

'Hades I'm scared..' She admitted softly, unlike her husband Persephone had never been to any kind of Olympus trial so this was all new to her. '-I don't wanna loose him..'

'You won't..' The fiery god spoke in a gentle tone, trying to soothe her fears. '-I promise.' He then pressed a kiss to her forehead as the goddess threw him a brief smile. She dearly wanted to believe that her husband would make everything alright but the knot in her stomach twisted tighter now as they closed in on the coliseum. Unfortunately there was no magic formula that could fix this situation. Thanatos had admitted to starting the Fire of Rome back in the spring and no he was about to be punished for it… simple as that.

As they entered the first set of pillars Hermes appeared out of a blur of neon blue and smiled some-what anxiously at the Underworld couple before turning to Thanatos who blinked at his mentor. Persephone felt a leap of relief to see her best friend in the whole cosmos was here to support them. The small smile on her face quickly vanished when the tiny blue god clicked his fingers and a set of gold hand and foot cuffs linked by a single gold chain appeared out of a shimmer of blue.

'Hey!' Thanatos cried out in shock as the cuffs immediately snapped around his wrists and ankles.

'What the Tartarus do ya think your doin'?' Hades flared irritably at the little god.

'Sorry guys. Zeus' orders..' Hermes responded apologetically with a nervous grin towards an orange flamed Hades.

'_Urh_..' Hades made an irritable groan of exasperation. '-trust Zeus to find a way to make this _more_ humiliatin' for the brat.' Thanatos tested his new restraints and groaned with frustration as he quickly deduced that no amount of godly powers were going to break these… after all they were clearly made by Hephaestus.

'_Da-ad_..' Thanatos then whined to his father, unnecessarily shaking the chain which jingled as he moved. '-I don't wanna wear these stupid things..'

'Just comply Than..' Hades responded grimly to his son. '-Mr High and Mighty will just make whatever punishment worse for ya if ya don't.'

'But-' Thanatos started to counter his words.

'Listen to your father sweetie..' Persephone added softly although her expression showed that she was far from impressed about her son being manacled up in this fashion.

'Uhh… _fiiine_.' Thanatos pouted sulkily as he folded his arms with a slight jingle of chains.

'C'mon Than..' Hermes sounded kindly as he clamped a hand on his shoulder. 'It's time.'

* * *

'Thanatos Moros Chthonos..' Zeus sounded in a low severe voice as the golden-flamed godling appeared shackled in chains before him. '-you were charged earlier this year with Crimes against the Cosmos due to your reckless behaviour during our annual Ceralia Celebrations in which certain actions of your own resulted in a fire that burnt down the city state of Rome, do you recall this day?' The golden-tanned Lord of Olympus glared down at his least liked nephew from his large golden throne.

'Yes..' Thanatos sighed heavily with exasperation.

'Yes what?' Zeus' sky blue eyes narrowed further. Hades actually groaned at this point realising that his idiotic biological brother was fully intent on making this as torturous as possible for his son. Hermes gently nudged Thanatos and nodded to the godling with a 'just play along' flick of the wrist and a supportive smile.

Thanatos sighed heavily… he really did _hate_ his uncle sometimes.

'Yes _sir_..' The second word escaped the fiery godling's mouth in a venomous hiss which left a bad taste in his mouth.

'That's better.' Zeus responded choosing to ignore the bitterness in his nephew's voice for now. 'You also remember that I postponed your punishment therefore giving both you and your father time to clear up the mess you caused don't you?'

'Yes sir..' Thanatos replied folding his arms once more with the chains chinking slightly. His expression was slightly bored now as the godling was determined not to give Zeus the power-kick he was obviously seeking.

'Humph..' Zeus snorted in irritation at the godling's lack of interest towards this. The golden-tanned god however continued undeterred. 'I also understand that in the time since we last met you have received your divine rights, would that be correct?'

'Yes my Lord it's true..' Hermes spoke up now. '-I was at his inauguration and can verify that Thanatos was assigned the position of God of Death.' Hermes then flashed a wink to the Lord of the Dead which caused Hades to smirk. He knew that Zeus would ask for witnesses to Thanatos' inauguration which was why he had made sure that Hades had the Olympus dwelling side of Persephone's family there too.

'Is there anyone other than you that can confirm this too Hermes?'

'Both Demeter and Bacchus were present too, sir..' Hermes sounded immediately and Hades' smirk widened as Zeus looked disappointed for a brief moment before his resolve hardened once more.

'Very well, very well. Hermes see that his name is added to the scroll listing the Underworld pantheon.'

'Already taken care of your most supremeness..' Hermes sounded airily pulling an off yellow scroll out of nowhere and noting Thanatos' name and position before making it vanish once more. The golden-skinned Lord of Olympus then turned to the Lord of the Underworld, the only one who could have bestowed Thanatos' divine rights upon him and threw him a searching frown.

'Now Hades..' Zeus sounded in a low voice as he scrutinised his brother. '-this wouldn't be an attempt from you to undermine my authority, would it little brother?'

'What? Me? Undermine you Zeusy?' Hades sounded innocently with a smirk to his biological brother. 'I think you've had your head up in the clouds too long bro, all this thin air is cuttin' off the oxygen to your brain. Than's mentors have been trainin' the kid for months, he was more than ready to assume his position when I assigned it to him.' The fiery god sounded in an airy voice with a casual flick of his free wrist, his other hand still holding his wife close to him. The fiery god pretended to be offended by the suggestion that he was trying to manipulate Zeus' decision, which was what he was actually trying to do. 'Y'know it's accusations like that that get'cha into trouble.'

'I'm sorry Hades but you've gotta see how this looks little brother.' Zeus sounded causing Hades to shrug dismissively.

'Yeh, well… let's just get back to Thanatos' situation instead of pointin' fingers at me, whadda ya say, huh?' The fiery god swirled his wrist in an impatient gesture towards Zeus who sighed.

'Very well.' He sounded in a reluctant tone before clearing his throat and addressed his nephew in an oddly amiable tone. 'Thanatos, amongst your duties as God of Death would one of them include tracking down wayward souls and delivering them to the Underworld?' Thanatos kinked a brow confused at his uncle now, slightly thrown by his friendly demure… Zeus was never this friendly to him.

'Define 'wayward'?' The fiery godling replied slightly confused.

'Oh y'know..' Zeus twirled his hand airily. '-souls who are trying to out run the inevitable.'

'You mean their own deaths?' Thanatos blinked then threw his parents a confused look but both Hades and Persephone looked just as bemused as he did. None of them knew where Zeus was heading with this.

'Yes, would it be part of your duties Thanatos to track them down?' Zeus asked him keenly and Thanatos shrugged unsurely.

'Uh, yeh I guess it would..' The fiery godling responded then smirked adding, '-after all Death always gets his mark.' The moment these words came out of his nephews mouth Zeus grinned widely, clearly this was exactly what he wanted to hear.

'Hah!' The golden-tanned god sounded in a loud gleeful voice. ''Death always get's his mark.' That's exactly the kind of moxie I've been looking for!'

'Wait… what?' If Thanatos had been confused before he was even more so now.

'_What_?' Hades too was pulling the exact same smoking goldfish look his son was.

'Oh it's official.' Persephone drawled folding her arms and swinging all her weight on one hip. 'He's lost his mind.' Even Hermes who was usually quick on the uptake was looking concerned for his boss' sanity.

'Y'know all summer I was wracking my brains trying to come up with a punishment for Thanatos-' Zeus began and Hades smirked and lent into his wife with an amused leer and whispered,

'Ya here that babe, it took him all summer..' Persephone smirked slightly in amusement before politely shushing him as Zeus carried on as if nothing had been said.

'-and it occurred to me that I was looking at the situation all wrong. Instead of punishing the boy for his crime, I should try to scare him straight so that by the time he comes of age he will not be a liability.' His sky blue eyes rested on Hades and the blue flamed god scowled, apparently being a 'liability' meant 'stop him turning out like you'.

'Err, ok… why don't I like where this is heading?' Thanatos sounded in an uneasy voice now, something in his gut told him that what Zeus was going to deliver would be worse than any punishment ever conceived.

'Alright Zeus, help me out here..' Hades too did not like where the Lord of Olympus was heading with this. '-now when you say 'scare him straight' what, uh… what do ya mean by that _exactly_?' The fiery god flared slightly as he beckoned Zeus to explain himself more fully.

'Instead of a punishment I'm going to give Thanatos a job, something that should teach him about what happens to those who enrage the gods.'

'Psshh..' Hades waved this off dismissively. '-Than already know about Tartarus.'

'He does?' Zeus kinked a large white brow at his little brother. 'And has he ever been inside it?'

'Err… nope, he's had a few 'time outs' in the holdin' cells when he's been misbehavin' but that's about it..' The fiery god smirked widely.

'You use the Tartarus cells as a way to discipline your son?' Hermes asked with disbelief.

'Meh, I'm a strict parent, whatta ya gonna do..' Hades responded checking his nails casually before turning back to Zeus and asking, 'So what kinda job do ya want him t'do.'

'I want Thanatos to collect a soul named Sisyphus and escort him straight down to Tartarus for punishment.' Zeus sounded in a business like tone.

It took a few seconds for the drachma to drop as the four gods in front of him gawped at him in disbelief.

'What?' Thanatos sounded in shock, being one of the first to recover.

'That's it?' Hades sounded in disbelief at the same moment. ''Pfft, this will be a synch, Than can track mortals in his sleep.'

'This mortal is _very_ sneaky.' Zeus sounded firmly but Hades only laughed in amusement.

'_Ooh_.. He's a sneaky mortal Than, maybe I better hold your _hand.._' The fiery nudged his son playfully but Thanatos merely looked disgusted by the job.

'I don't wanna work for Zeus..' Thanatos sounded. '-that's like a punishment in itself.'

'Quit kvetchin' Than, this is the best offer your gonna get..' Hades hissed, flaring slightly at his first born.

'But I'd rather be in Tartarus than work for that jerk.' Thanatos continued stubbornly.

'Believe me brat, ya _really_ wouldn't.' Hades sounded in a low voice with a slight smirk.

'Mo-_om_..' Thanatos sounded turning to Persephone and the white-skinned goddess bit her lip as her son threw her the 'don't make me do this' look.

'_Ohh_… I'm sorry sweet-flames but I'm with your father on this one.' She sounded sympathetically causing Hades to blink, smirk widely and flare his blue flames with a 'get in' gesture. Persephone ignored her husband and continued speaking to her son. 'I know your not exactly thrilled about this job but there are a lot worse punishments in the cosmos than this sweetie.'

'But if I do a good job he'll make me do it again and if I fail I'll be the laughing stock of Greece.' Thanatos sounded pleading with his parents

'Sorry brat, I'm a bettin' man..' Hades responded shaking his blue-flamed head stubbornly. '-and that's a risk I'm willing to take, I won't have no kid of mine locked up in Tartarus or put into an eternal sleep.'

'But-' Thanatos started.

'I said _no_..' Hades snarled flaring a brief orange. '-now deal with it!'

'Fine.' Thanatos pouted sulkily as his flaming quiff flickered irritably.

'So, what do you say Hades, do we have an agreement?' Zeus sounded interrupting their hissing discussion, he'd given them enough time to talk it over.

'Zeus, you're one heck of a god, y'know that..' Hades sounded with a wide smirk holding out a hand to his biological brother. '-Thanatos will get right on it once I've given him a little direction on how to deal with Tartarian prisoners, that sound fair?' Zeus grinned widely at Hades and accepted the handshake and gold electric sparks flew as the gods sealed their new arrangement while Thanatos glared darkly at his father. He could feel the uneasy feeling in his gut growing… something bad was going happen on this gig, he just knew it.

'Wonderful.' Zeus sounded in a loud booming voice as he smirked widely. 'Then it's settled.' He snapped his large golden fingers and Thanatos' shackles melted into a golden shimmer. The moment he was free Thanatos vanished into a puff of smoky shadow without a word to either of his parents. 'Well now that that's taken care of I have a game of bridge to get back to.' Zeus promptly vanished out with a large flash of white light.

'Does Than seem peeved off to you guys?' Hermes sounded concerned as the dark look on the little deity's face had not gone unnoticed by him.

'Ahh, he's just a little hot-head..' The fiery god sounded airily waving dismissively. 'Heh, he gets it from me..'

'Uh-huh. And there's only one place he goes when he's in a foul mood about something..' Persephone added in a grim tone.

* * *

'_ARGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!~!_' Thanatos screamed out in frustration as he exploded like a small bomb into the home of the Fates, sending a torrent of fire around the room almost singing the corners of the Tapestry of Fate.

'Something wrong my dear..' Atropos sounded politely as she and her sisters had been sitting in their gloomy cavernous home having a spot of hemlock tea and some of their mother Nyx' home-made biscuits. The three twisted sisters pretended not to notice Thanatos as he appeared in the room in an obvious foul mood, they already knew why he was upset but they also knew that it was therapeutic to vent out frustrations too so they would let him yell at them.

'_Ohhh_, like you don't know..' Thanatos jeered sarcastically before his skin and eyes vanished under his flames of frustration. '_I don't wanna work for that, that obnoxious schlub!~!_' He roared wrathfully towards the three sisters of destiny.

'Now Thanatos, you know as well as we do that every thing happens for a reason..' Clotho sounded in a soothing yet sombre tone. She then took a sip of the murky green tea in her cup.

'Exactly..' Lachesis added lightly, the Fate of the Present gazed at him with the Eye of Fate firmly in her left eye socket. '-there's a reason for this just like there's a reason for that feeling of impending doom in your stomach.' She added but the bony flaming skeleton that was Thanatos only scowled harder at her.

'So what? You just want me to accept this job and see where it takes me?' He sounded irritably, placing his bony hands on his clock-covered hip bones and scowling darkly at the three Fates.

'_Yes!_' They all sounded as one causing Thanatos to sigh, a billow of smoke curling around him which cleared revealing his skin, eyes and flames to be back to normal. The fiery godling shook his head with disbelief, it really did seem like he would have no choice but to go ahead and do this irksome job for Zeus..

'You know as well as we do that the future will reveal itself in time..' Atropos sounded kindly. '-sometimes even we Fates must be patient and watch it unfold for itself.' The Fate of the Inevitable rubbed his back soothingly. 'Now why don't you return to your father, he has some important pointers for you that you really should listen to..'

'_Urh_..' Thanatos groaned heavily in response to this. '-if I must..' He then vanished out in a puff of smoky darkness leaving the three sisters smirking in amusement.

'He's not going to take any of it in, is he?' Clotho smirked amused.

'Of course he's not..' Atropos sounded with a smirk of her own. '-he thinks his father sold him out.'

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Heya Peeps, I bet I surprised a few of you with Than's 'punishment' didn't I? Lol… ok, so it wasn't as bad as everybody feared but I still think that to an Underworld deity working for Zeus must be like the ultimate hell…especially if he's hated you since birth.._

_Alright, I'm sure there's a few of you that already know the myth that I'm about to twist into my storyline but there's a lot of background things I'm adding too so the actual myth itself is only the very basic story plot here. I don't want to give too much away so I'll shut up now.._

_Was Hades really a sell out? Let me know what you think.._

_Until next time…_

_Ditzy X_


	27. How do you Deal with a Tartarian Convict

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**BubblyButtons2me: Thanks… sorry about the delay but here's another! X**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: Ha-ha, you know the myth huni, you tell me! X**_

_**DakraixCresselia: Hmmm, if you know the myth of Sisyphus then you will know the answer, if not don't worry because this chapter will answer it for you… did he jinx his son? Read on my dear.. X**_

_**PrincessofSea: I think he was just trying to spare his son from something worse… and yeh, it is a little like Rumpelstiltskin (your spelling was right btw) there's always somebody who has to jinx it isn't there? And Zeus is starting to come off like a real jerk, that's intentional and I am going somewhere with it I promise.. X**_

_**Black Diamond07: Ah come on… if you were Death and thought you were unbeatable you'd be behaving the same way… but yeh, he kind of does need brought down a little doesn't he? I'm sure this chapter will satisfy you X**_

_**DisneyPrincess: OMG, thank you, thank you for the reminder, I totally forgot to mention that before! Yes, it is Melinoe and she is featured on DeviantART with another picture of Hades and Seph dressed in their Halloween costumes from my fic Trick or Treating… I'm such an imp at times! Read on to find out how Than gets on with Sisyphus, and yeh Zeus was a nasty piece of work in myth and I've been trying to recreate this in my fics without ruining the character of Zeus set out by the film, it's actually quite difficult! X**_

_**Stay70573: It wouldn't be Hades if he didn't give a few digs would it? And the characters of Hades and Thanatos are quite similar but there are a few subtle but key differences that make them uniquely different too X**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Twenty-Seven:****How do you Deal with a Tartarian Convict?**

Hades descended the long stony stairway slowly, walking with Thanatos by his side. The blue-flamed god couldn't hide his concern as it was crossing his face. The nine year-old God of Death-in-training was only just starting to get to grips with the basic requirements of his job, it was only in the last couple of weeks that Thanatos had started making solo trips to the surface to slice the lifelines of dying souls and guide their spirits down to Charon, Hades had wanted to build up his son's confidence before introducing him slowly to the uglier aspects of his job… Thanatos was far from ready to deal with a Tartarian convict, not that _Bolt Boy _would care whether he was ready or not.

_What the Zeus wants, the Zeus gets, right?_

Hades rolled his eyes wearily. He had thought after everything that had happened with the Titans and Persephone Zeus would have realised that Hades was fed up of playing the 'loyal little Underworld lap-god' routine… but then again, this was Zeus? The god who seemed to think an appropriate job for a juvenile god was to go and apprehend a potentially dangerous criminal!

As the two pyrogods descended the last step of the long stairway Hades turned to his nine year old son and sighed heavily.

'Alright Than..' The blue fiery god sounded with a low timbre causing his white-skinned son to turn his round golden eyes towards his parent. '-there's a few things ya gotta know before I send ya out to get this guy alright, now pay attention.' Hades then held out one long digit looking deadly serious now. 'Number one: Mortals bound for Tartarus are notorious liars so never believe anything they say, got that? Do _not_ buy any schmaltz story this schmeil throws at'cha..'

'Uh-huh..' Thanatos droned, nodding vaguely in acknowledgement to his father's words as he pulled on his long black floor-length cloak and leant casually on his scythe.

'Number two: Do not engage in idle chit-chat. This is not a social visit, this is an arrest, your in then out like that-' Hades snapped his fingers. '-ba boom… and don't be shy about flashin' a little booga-booga, ya know what I'm sayin brat, the more explosive an entrance, the more they take it seriously, ok? Fear is your greatest weapon.' Hades flashed his son a wide twisted grin at this point, flashing a mouthful of sharp white fangs to his son complete with a wicked glint in his eyes.

'Oh-kay… fear is my friend..' Thanatos sounded amiably returning his father's depraved leer with a boyish smirk of his own.

'And finally, the most important rule..' Hades continued, his voice turning sombre as his grin quickly vanished. '-never, _ever_, show these guys even the _tiniest_ hint of compassion.' Hades' thumb and fore-finger were pushed together until they were almost touching.

'Uh, yeh, whatever dad.' Thanatos sounded vaguely, rolling his eyes and turning away from his father..

Show a soul affection? _Pfft_… he wasn't _that_ stupid.

'_Ha-ta-ta-ta-tah…_' Hades sounded aggressively before yanking his golden flamed back by the neck of his black over-cloak and glaring shrewdly at him. 'This is important Than, do _not_ show this guy any mercy, alright? He deserves what he's got comin' to him, this is his _punishment_.'

'Dad, dad… I got it, I got the concept, alright?' Thanatos rubbed his fingers before vanishing out of his father's grip in a swirl of smoky black darkness and swirling then reappearing on his father's opposite side. 'Ya don't need to keep rubbin' it in my face.' The fiery godling flashed his father a confident smirk as his eyes narrowed lazily.

'Your sure kiddo?' Hades frowned slightly, he couldn't yelp but be concerned.

'_Yes_..' Thanatos rolled his eyes irritably, folding his arms and pouting.

'Hey, a god can worry about his own brat..' Hades only threw his son a wily smirk, ignoring the nagging little voice in the back of his head that smugly pointed out that his own father Erebus had once said similar words to him. '-can't he?' Hades kinked a brow then scooped up his son and rubbed his bluish-grey knuckles against his son's white-skinned, golden flaming-quiffed cranium, causing sparks to fly as the little godling struggled to release himself from his father's affectionate noogie.

'Hey… quit it… _da-ad.._' Thanatos whined before finally managing to pull himself free. Hades only smirked wider as his son ran his fingers through his golden flames with annoyance.

'Alright, go on, get outta here ya little pisher..' The blue flamed god waved him off good-naturedly and Thanatos picked up his scythe which had dropped while he struggled to release himself from his father. The little godling then smirked widely at his father before saluting to the fiery Lord of the Dead and then he vanished upwards in a large trail of black smoky darkness.

Hades sighed heavily as he watched his son leave before a creaky voice sounded causing the stunned god to swivel around in shock.

'They grow up so fast don't they?'

'What the-?' Hades sounded in alarm before catching sight of the skeletal boatman standing in his black gondola, casually leaning on his oar. 'Aren't you supposed to be _rowing_ somewhere?' The fiery god sneered at the boatman who rolled his black eye sockets and pushed off from the jetty grumbling incoherently. The fiery god only smirked pleased with himself as he left the docks of the Styx..

* * *

Thanatos appeared on the surface and squint into the bright sunlight as his eyes were accustomed to darkness and shadow. It didn't take Thanatos long to adjust to the glare and he flew through the air, the lower section of his body was a large mass of smoke and wide smirk of satisfaction twisted across his lips as the air caused his golden-flamed quiff to flicker wildly. As the fiery God of Death-training flew over the Aegean sea his golden eyes brightened as he spotted the familiar icy blonde hair and pale blue skin of his cousin and friend.

'Yo Pro..' The sound of Thanatos' voice caused Proteus to look around surprised, he had been relaxing on the Aegean beach as this was a rare moment of peace from his under-water family.

'Oh geez..' The son of Poseidon cried out startled as Thanatos suddenly appeared right in front of him. Proteus then clutched his chest and scowled at his subterranean cousin. 'Whatta ya tryin' to do Than, give me heart failure!~!'

The godling of the Underworld only snorted with amusement.

'Yeh, right, like I should be so lucky..' Thanatos drawled in a falsely good-natured tone while rolling his eyes expressing his true jadedness before changing the subject. 'So… haven't seen ya since Ceralia Pro, how's it goin'? What kinda punishment did the big bad Po-Po bestow on ya, hmm?' The golden-flamed godling reeled off casually as he floated upwards and levitated above his cousin trying not to snicker at the mental image of a pissed off Poseidon… it was just way too funny.

Proteus on the other hand scowled up at his cousin's amused face, not finding the reality as funny as his subterranean cousin.

'_Urh_… a nightmare, dad made me scrub off the barnacles on all the sunken shipwrecks of our underwater domain..' Thanatos merely kinked a brow at this, completely unimpressed. '-he wouldn't let me use any of my godly powers either! It took for_ever…_' Proteus added with a pained expression before his eyes narrowed and a ghost of a smirk appeared on his lips. '-still, at least I'm not in as much trouble as you.'

'Yeh, yeh, yeh… I'm a little Tartarus-raiser.' Thanatos waved a hand in frivolous dismissal with a bored expression at Proteus' words before steering the conversation away from himself. 'How's military school workin' out for Eris then?' Thanatos suddenly flipped over so he was lying on his stomach mid-air and facing Proteus with a wide boyish smirk. He was clearly wanting to hear some dirt on the spoilt, moody Goddess of Discord and secretly hoping she was having a rough time in her new school.

'Oh, she _loves it!_' Proteus' expression brightened instantly.

'Wh-what?' Thanatos' smile faltered in surprise.

'Well Ares is her mentor…' Proteus sounded, stating the obvious. '-if Zeus thought he was punishing her by sending her to that school he was mistaken. Ares is so fond of Eris he let's her boss around the Spartans and she gets away with anything..' The pale blue god paused before adding, '-apparently Ares is training her in the art of War, he says she's like the daughter he should have had.' Thanatos gave a tut before shaking his head with disbelief… trust Eris to land on her feet. But then Zeus should have known that sending a goddess who loves disorder and chaos to the roughest school in the cosmos was hardly going to be a punishment… the Lord of Olympus could be so unbelievably dense sometimes..

'Oh, like that's not a dig at Harmonia..' Thanatos smirked in response to his cousin. Everybody knew that Ares thought that his peace-loving daughter was far too soft and she had nothing in common with him..

'Yeh, but you know Harmie won't rise to it.' Proteus responded lightly before his face turned suddenly serious. 'I heard that Zeus finally sentenced you..'

'Yup, my Crimes against the Cosmos is finally official.' Thanatos sounded sombrely. 'I got assigned a job by Uncle Zeus which will _supposedly_ teach me what happens to those who upset a god..' The fiery godling looked as if he highly doubted that this would be the case.

'What kind of job?' Proteus asked curiously.

'I have to grab this schmuck named Sisyphus and drag his sorry butt down to Tartarus.'

'T-Tartarus..?' The son of Poseidon yelped in shock.

'Yup..' Thanatos ignored the terrified look on his cousin's face. '-apparently this is a slap on the wrist to what I would've got but Zeus wanted to 'scare me straight' rather than punish me.' The fiery godling folded his arms as Proteus stared at him in shock and awe.

'Geez-oh Than, if that's a slap on the wrist I don't wanna know what your punishment was gonna be..' The son of Poseidon finally managed to blurt out still in disbelief.

'Ah shoot, gotta blaze Pro, some of us are on the clock… see ya around Brine-Boy..' The fiery godling snickered in amusement before waving off his cousin then vanishing out in a curl of smoky darkness once more..

* * *

Corinth was a small city state located in the space between Athens and Sparta and as a result it was often pulled into the rivalries of the two city states on either of it's boundaries. Although it was founded by Corinthos, a descendent of Helios the state was more closely associated with Poseidon than the Sun God. The current ruler of this state was a cunning man by the name of Sisyphus, who coincidently was the brother of Salmoneus, a mortal who had impersonated Zeus and angered the Ruler of the Gods into smiting him with a lightning bolt. Ever since then the hot-headed Ruler of Elis had learnt his lesson. He had mellowed and become a kind and gracious ruler who loyally worshiped the gods and instructed his people to do likewise. Sisyphus and his brother had never been on good terms and when the Ruler of Corinth was not being pulled into a war between Athens and Sparta he was plotting to take his brother's throne.

King Sisyphus was infamous for his intellect and cunning, this was a mortal who had once tried to seduce his niece Tyro in some underhanded scheme to snatch his brother's throne, this plan had backfired when Tyro finally figured out she was just being used as a tool to dethrone her father. She then aided Salmoneus in defeating Sisyphus and banishing him back to Corinth where he'd been sulking ever since..

Sisyphus knew he was going to get into a lot of trouble for what he had done. A mortal that had revealed a god's secret would not go unpunished… and he had betrayed the secret of none other than Zeus himself! If his dumb brother Salmoneus was anything to go by Zeus was not going to be merciful and there was no way he was going to be able to talk himself out of this one… he was as good as dead..

…Well he wouldn't going to go down without a fight.

The sneaky King of Corinth had a plan to fix Zeus. Sisyphus knew that he had avoid entry into Tartarus, which is where most of the other mortals went who had angered the gods. Since Tartarus was officially part of Hades' domain there was one very easy way to avoid entry into the Underworld… not receiving a proper burial. It was common knowledge in Greece that only souls who had received proper burial rites and had been given two silver coins by the living would be able to cross the Styx. Those who didn't receive their last rites were left on the outer side of the banks and had find their own way to the Asphodel Fields which was the only part of the Underworld located on the northern banks, although you had to navigate your own way and pass a notorious three-headed dog with a penchant for chasing dead things.

Sisyphus gave his wife Merope specific instructions that when Zeus, or Hades, sent their psycopomp Hermes to come and collect Sisyphus' soul and cart him off to Tartarus she was not to bury his body. Instead Merope was to dump his lifeless corpse in the public square by the fresh-water spring, his reward for betraying Zeus to the river guardian Asopus. Merope was unsure at first but the wiley old king said that if she truly loved him she would do it..

Once the King of Corinth had emotionally blackmailed his wife into promising him this atrocious request he simply returned to his throne room and waited for the psycopomp to arrive..

* * *

Thanatos didn't arrive in Corinth until nightfall. The nine year old God of Death-in-training had chosen to leave the collection of this 'Sisyputz' until he had reaped all the other souls on his list for the day… his stupid Uncle '_Zeuuuus_' had failed to specify what time he had wanted the mortal dragged down to Tartarus, which meant that Thanatos could collect him any time he wanted to… the fiery godling was always loop-holing his punishments. It was yet another trait he had inherited from his father Hades and both his subterranean parents knew to close off every loop-hole when punishing their son or he would just find a way around it. But his dense and conceited uncle on Olympus obviously didn't know his nephew very well… not that this was a surprise.

The fiery godling appeared in the throne room of the King of Corinth and looked over at the dark-haired monarch who was sitting on his throne. He was clearly waiting for someone but it was obvious by the look on his face it was not a golden-flamed juvenile god he expected.

'Who the Tartarus are you?' Sisyphus asked rudely as he caught sight of this strange boy who had appeared in his throne room from the dark shadows in the corner. His boyish face was pale white like freshly fallen snow, he had large rounded golden eyes with large pupils like black pools of darkness, he had a long and straight nose which sat above his pale lips and he was dressed in a long floor-length black robe. in the strange boy's right hand stood a long oak-handed scythe, it's blade glistened ominously and on the cranium of his head flickered golden yellow quiff of flames as bright as the sunshine's rays.

This strange child had to be a god… but why was he here instead of Hermes.

'I am Thanatos, are you Sisyphus?' The fiery godling responded jabbing a finger towards the King of Corinth. In truth, Thanatos already knew that this was the guy he was looking for but he wanted to see if this idiot was really as big a liar as Zeus said he was.

'No.' Sisyphus replied instantly with a surprisingly convincing tone, this guy was clearly an expert when it came to lying.

'_Don't lie to me faggot!_' Thanatos' flames rippled with annoyance now. 'I'm omniscient, I already know that you _are_ him!'

'Then why did you flaming ask?' Sisyphus scowled in irritation at this stupid little god-child.

'It was a test artard..' Thanatos responded hotly. '-you wouldn't be able to see me if you weren't the soul I was sent to collect!'

You're here to escort me to Tartarus?' Sisyphus kinked a brow in confusion at this strange little boy deity who's yellow eyes narrowed in response to his words.

'Wow, you're a credit to mortals everywhere..' Thanatos shot back sarcastically and Sisyphus' scowl deepened… he was starting to find this kid's cocky manners really annoying. He was speaking to him as if he were an idiot which he was not. Sisyphus studied the immortal child before him with mild interest now. He looked to be about only four feet tall or maybe just a little over, he was clearly very weedy as his clothing hung off of his skinny frame and if he didn't have any godly powers he could be subdued easily.

'Tell me Thanatos..' Sisyphus sounded curiously to the godling before him. '-why would Zeus send a child to do his bidding?'

'_Uhh_… cause he's an idiot.' The fiery godling sounded as if stating the obvious and the look on his face clearly showed how little he thought of the King of the Gods. 'Now shut your yap, we're goin' to Tartarus..' Thanatos pulled a set of silver skull handcuffs out of a puff of smoke and advanced towards Sisyphus intending to subdue the mortal with his Touch of Death and drag his sorry soul downstairs for punishment. The King of Corinth thought very quickly deciding that since this god was relatively unknown that he must be new to the pantheon, therefore if he could outsmart him then there was a chance that Sisyphus could subdue him with his own godly powers and postpone his Tartarian sentence.

'What are those?' Sisyphus asked with wary innocence, gazing with false wonderment at the silvery handcuffs in the god's hands.

'Oh my days..' Thanatos groaned with a bite of irritation now. 'Are you friggin' _kidding_ _me?_' The fiery godling's golden flames rippled in annoyance and he swung the shackles in his hand. 'You've never seen handcuffs before?' This was unbelievable…

'No..' Sisyphus lied bluntly still gazing at the cuffs in false wonderment. 'Can I see them?'

'_Geez Louise_, _what kind of freakin' backwards state is this?_' Thanatos rolled his eyes before holding out the handcuffs towards Sisyphus so he could see them clearly. 'These are called 'haand-_cuffs_'-' He spoke as if addressing a simpleton. '-you use them to tether criminals. This particular set have been embalmed with the power to ensure that no soul can escape when shackled.' Sisyphus made a low impressed noise before looking tentatively across to Thanatos.

'Would they be able to shackle a god?' He asked as innocently as possible, already formulating a plan in the back of his mind. Thanatos blinked at the question before scrutinising the mortal before him suspiciously. He knew that the mortal before him was up to something but for some reason he just couldn't figure out what, it was as if the Fates were blocking his gift of foresight.

'Probably.' Thanatos finally responded still eyeing the mortal distrustfully. 'If no soul can escape them I imagine no god can either..'

Inside Sisyphus smirked widely but he kept his cool yet quietly fascinated façade as he studied the handcuffs in the godlings white hand.

'So how do they work then?' The sneaky mortal asked innocently and Thanatos sighed heavily then held out a wrist in front of Sisyphus.

'You just hold the manacle over the wrist like so-' He held the bracelet over where his hand joined his arm. '-and snap it on like this.' The fiery godling pushed the bracelet onto his wrist and a sharp click sounded indicating that the bracelet was locked into place. 'See… now it's locked in place.' Thanatos tugged the chain to prove it was on securely.

'So it is..' Sisyphus sounded with sinister interest before taking advantage and seizing the other manacle and wrenching it out of Thanatos' grip before the godling could stop him.

'What the-' Thanatos sounded then found his shackled arm wrenched harshly behind his back and the other manacle snapped around his other wrist. '_Hey!_' The flaming godling sounded furiously and flared brutally. 'What in Tartarus do ya think your doin'? The fiery godling seethed wrestling with the shackles to try and free himself but it was no use. When he realised that he couldn't break them the god tried to vanish out of them but all that happened was that Thanatos vanished into a shadowy mass that didn't move as the cuffs remained whole and visible. After wrestling as a black shadowy entity with his shackles the godling reappeared realising that the power of the shackles had numbed his own godly powers, he wasn't going anywhere..

_Damn it._

It seemed the handcuffs really were strong enough to secure a god.

Sisyphus smirked deviously at the shackled godling before then bent down and picked up Thanatos' long-handled scythe that had dropped when he had shackled the godling.

'_Hoi! Put that down you filthy mortal!_' Thanatos roared, becoming a flaming skeleton of fury as he watched the miserable excuse for a human grab his scythe. But before Thanatos could do anything but flare threateningly at him Sisyphus darted around the godling and levered the curved blade of the scythe between the unbreakable chain of the handcuffs and the godling's skeletal back.

'What are you doin' now?' Skeletal Thanatos spat irritably as the mortal King of Corinth leered at him with a twisted and satisfied expression.

'Move it.' Sisyphus hissed digging the scythe into the godling's back forcing the god forwards, the god only moved a couple of paces before his flames receded to normal and his skin and eyes reappeared from dark shadowy smoke. 'C'mon you little punk, get going..' Sisyphus snarled and prodded him with more force.

'_Ow_. Ok, ok, I'm movin'… sheesh, keep your toga on.' Thanatos started walking reluctantly forwards while rolling his golden eyes with disbelief… Outsmarted by a mortal. He was never going to live this down. Sisyphus then forced Thanatos into the empty stone closet near the doorway to his throne room then slammed the door shut and locked it.

The King of Corinth smirked widely, pleased with himself and silently self-congratulating himself for subduing a god… even if he was a juvenile one.

'I guess I'm not going to Tartarus after all..' He goaded the fiery godling who was now trapped in the tiny closet. He then twirled Thanatos' scythe airily before turning his eyes to it. 'Now to get rid of the evidence..' He mused as his dark eyes narrowed to the oak-handled and long curve-bladed instrument…

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_OMG Peeps, I'm very, very sorry for the enormous delay in posting the chapter… as I said in PVD. (if you read that fic) I had a sort of mental writing crash and decided to take a short hiatus from writing to get my mind back together… now that I've pulled myself together I'm finally ready to continue writing… yay! XP_

_Ok, has anyone else noticed that as soon as I post a chap a whole bunch of other writers immediately post their stories right after (or am I the only one who spots this?) WTF is that all about, hmmm? Do they really have to wait for me to post? Are they trying to spam readers off me or what, what is the deal here? Someone explain it to me cause I don't get it.._

_Alright enough ranting… the back-story of Sisyphus is taken from myth although I have kind of toned it down considering the myth was a little too extreme for Disney as usual there is a little of my own invention in there too. Don't worry Zeus' big secret will be revealed soon for those who don't know the myth but in the interest of the story I can't say it as it will play an important role over the next couple of chapters._

_Once more a little bit of myth truth in what Proteus says about Eris, as Goddess of Strife she was very closely connected with Ares the God of War, she would help him by inciting his wars and entering into battle before him. She could be just as blood thirsty as him and it made perfect sense to me to have her boss around the Spartans and get away with any trouble she caused.. Seems like Zeus screwed up on her punishment too, huh?_

_One hell of a pissy Hades will be coming up and Persephone gets an unexpected surprise.._

_Stay tuned..._

_Ditzy X_


	28. The Day all Death Ceased

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**BubblyButtons2me: Glad you like it so much : ) X**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: I guess Thanatos is has a short attention span.. Lol, wonder which parent he gets that from? X**_

_**DakraixCresselia: Nope, Thanatos is in a whole heapa trouble now isn't he? X**_

_**Black Diamond07: I haven't watched Xena in years… Sisyphus was a cunning man in myth and I see no reason to change him, the mortal was speculated to be Thanatos' first victim as the god acts with so much inexperience.. X**_

_**DisneyPrincess: Poor Than, he doesn't have much luck, eh? But your right, he's just a little kid… and he's still on a learning curve. X**_

_**Wolvie'sBiggestFan: Have to wait and see hun… ;) X**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Twenty-Eight:****The Day all Death Ceased..**

Persephone watched her husband silently from the doorway into the throne room, her bright green eyes were swimming with wide-eyed worry as they followed her blue-flamed husband as he paced restlessly in front of their large two-seat stone throne. The fiery Lord of the Dead swung around violently, his blue flames flickering agitatedly as he stormed back across the floor in a seemingly endless circle of pacing. His brow was furrowed deeply and his full blue lips were twisted into a sombre grimace, his jaw twitching nervously. His long bony bluish-grey fingers fidgeted restlessly at his sides as he moved. They flexed then clenched and unclenched in a manner that suggested he did not know how to deal with his pent-up anxiety.

It had been three days since they'd seen their son..

Usually this wouldn't be an issue as Thanatos' job as a psycopomp meant that he could be away for days on end without being seen but since the godling had been sent on a 'special' mission by order of Zeus the Underworld couple had expected him to come home that same evening.

He hadn't.

At first the Rulers of the Underworld weren't too concerned. Thanatos was busy this time of year and perhaps he had just been held up by something as innocent as a fresh outbreak of Proserpina Plague. But their attitudes soon changed by the second evening when both the imps and Sirens approached their bosses concerned by the unusual shortage of dead souls. It was autumn now, the 'summer slump' was over and done with, the souls should have been trickling in steadily as the nights drew in and the temperatures dropped. Hades nearly imploded with shock when he saw the figures for the week so far.

_Zero new dead people_.

Concerned about this 'plug' in business the Lord of the Dead had first summoned Charon to him, wondering if the workaholic skeletal ferryman had finally cracked. Charon however explained that he had not seen a soul in days and genuinely seemed as confused as his boss about this new lull. Once Hades had crossed Charon off his mental reasons for the lack of souls he turned to his next suspect… Hermes.

As official Messenger of the Gods and acting mentor of Thanatos the blue-flamed god was certain that Hermes must know _something _about this. But unfortunately for the Lord of the Underworld Hermes didn't seem to know anything. At first the tiny blue Messenger God had been confused by the lack of souls that needed guiding down but he'd just assumed that Thanatos had worked out a system for collecting souls and didn't require assistance. Hermes was then genuinely alarmed that nobody had seen the little golden-flamed godling in almost three days. Thanatos might have a smart mouth and a way of attracting trouble but underneath all that he was genuinely a good kid, if you gave him an order and closed all the loop-holes he followed it down to a Tao. He'd been given the order of going and collecting Sisyphus' soul and dragging him down to Tartarus three days ago and knowing the little golden fireball like he did Hermes figured that Thanatos would leave him until last… but if Sisyphus was still on the surface then perhaps the fiery son of Hades was in some serious trouble.

On the advice of Hermes Hades had then looked backwards through the Soul Index to try and figure out the last life-lines that Thanatos had sliced. As the little blue god expected there had been no souls since Thanatos had gone missing almost three days ago. Concern and panic washed over the blue-flamed Lord of the Dead, what had become of his eldest child? Hades had immediately summoned both the Sirens and imps to him. Hermes immediately offered to help, feeling both responsible and guilty over the lose of Thanatos… he was his mentor, he should have been looking out for the little god.

The order he laid on the Sirens was simple. Go to the surface and retrace Thanatos' steps… at this point Hades had scribbled down a list of the last few souls that were the last to arrive in the Underworld. The three identical sisters took the list and curtsied to their master and fluttered off in a flurry of white feathery wings. Hades gave Hermes a straight forward job too… to check out the soul situation on the surface and report back to him, keeping this all hush, hush from Zeus of course.. Hermes agreed and then he too vanished in a blur of blue.

This just left the imps..

The job Hades had for them was easy enough but this was the imps… the dense duo could make a mountain out of a mole-hill but he needed their shifty characters for this job so he had no choice. He had ordered the imps to go straight to Sisyphus' home in Corinth and check on his newest inmate. If the mortal was still alive and kicking then they were to check the surrounding area for any signs that suggested Thanatos had been there and report back… Hades wanted a full understanding of the situation before he took this matter further.

So now here he was, as Persephone watched unseen from the doorway, pacing forwards and backwards impatiently… waiting for the six of them to return with news.

* * *

'He's still _alive_..' Panic gasped in shock as his large yellow bug-like eyes caught sight of the King of Corinth still walking about with a self-satisfied smirk across his face, looking overly pleased with himself. The two imps had morphed into two song birds and fluttered down, perching on the window of the throne room.

'Doesn't that mean that Than never arrived here..' The pudgy little pink bird that was Pain concluded… unaware how far form the truth, or Thanatos, they really were.

'Hades won't accept that..' Panic responded shaking his light green feathery head. '-we have to scout around for signs that he was here.' The little green bird unfurled his little wings which were tinged with blue and fluttered them leaping off the window sill. The pudgy pink bird too unfurled his wings that were tinged with purple and took off after his partner.

'So what are we looking for?' Pain sounded as he flapped his little wings, he had to flap extra hard to carry all his weight and he flapped almost as fast as a humming bird. The little green bird rolled his big yellow eyes at this.

'I dunno, do I… a sign I guess.' Panic replied as his eyes rolled around the countryside for clues.

'Hey, what's that?' Pain sounded unsurely as a glint of silver caught his eyes as the pair approached a gloomy looking ravine. Panic's head turned towards the shallow but dark recess in the ground which sported a fast flowing river.. and at the bottom a glint of silver caught his eyes too. Some lone strip of sunlight was bouncing off something that was wedged in the rock just under the water's surface.

The tiny little green bird fluttered down to the rocky embankment and morphed back in to a slim green imp with a beak-like nose and overly-large bug-eyes. Panic grinned as he quickly realised what it was they were seeing. Pain to landed on the rocky surface and morphed back into his usual chubby imp form

'It's the sign we've been looking for.' The green imp replied grimly as both imps gazed down at their find.

* * *

'Sweetie..' Persephone finally sighed, unable to just hang back and silently watch her husband mentally punish himself for Thanatos' disappearance. Once she had let her presence known to him the fiery god swivelled around to his wife, his eyes were the same muddle of wide-eyed concern and confusion she had. As he stared at her his large round eyes welled up with sadness, self-loathing, regret and guilt.

'I'm a _failure_..' Hades finally declared and the guilt and sadness vanished from his face as his features twisted into a nasty scowl. Sensing her husband needed comfort the goddess swept forwards as sympathy and dejection filled her.

'No, no, no your not.' She sounded in a soft soothing voice wrapping her arms around her husband but the fiery god threw Persephone off. Hades swivelled away from her trying to ignore the hurt in her eyes.

'_I am a failure!_' Hades snarled aggressively, his flaming hair flaring a nasty yellow shade. 'I'm his _father _for Erebus' sake I'm supposed to look out for him, _protect_ him from this kinda thing.' The fiery god groaned mellow-dramatically before slumping down on their massive two-seater throne, covering his face with his large palms. 'And I failed him..' These words were suddenly quiet and almost choked as if the fiery god were holding back a floodgate of tears, he was suddenly shaking with grief as his flames quivered and returned blue.

'Hades..' Persephone moved in front of her husband and seized his wrists, yanking them away from his face revealing her husband. He looked like a broken god and merely gazed at her blindly as though seeing through her. It broke her heart to see him this way, all she wanted to do was curl up in his lap and cry with him… Thanatos was her baby too. She suddenly felt a stab of remorse for her own mother, this must have been how Demeter had felt when she had run off with Hades all those years ago. The Queen of the Underworld then pushed her mother from her thoughts and resumed her steely resolve. She could break down later but right now she needed to be strong for her husband.

'You are _not_ a failure.' Persephone sounded firmly causing her husband to blink confused. 'Now you need to get a hold of yourself.' She let go of her husband's hands and pushed some blonde hair out of her face in a slightly exasperated manner. 'Our son is up there somewhere-' She gestured wildly towards the surface. '-he may be in some serious trouble and sitting around on our butts moping is not gonna bring him back now, is it?' Hades blinked again at his wife's unusually firm words then a glint of realisation hit his eyes. He then narrowed his eyes and snapped out of his brooding, a slight smirk appeared on his lips.

'Your right Sephykins.' He sounded resolutely as he straightened in his throne. 'Our son needs us.' He suddenly pushed his lips to her and kissed her lips once. When he pulled away Persephone felt her stomach swoop with a feeling like butterflies, as she straightened she felt a little light-headed and smiled with coy girlish innocence.

'Y'know… there's not much I can do for Than until I get some information from our minions..' He purred seductively as his arms turned to smoky vapour and wrapped themselves around her waist. '-but right now I just see you and me… all alone.' The low growl that escaped his lips as his eyes narrowed lecherously only caused a bubble of giggles to tumble out of the goddess' mouth. Her husband's fingers solidified on her hips and he steered the goddess into another kiss before his arms appeared around her back as she nestled in his lap comfortably. Her dainty fingers stroking down his shoulders across his chest until her fingers twisted onto his chiton pin drawing a moan from Hades-

'Um, excuse us Miss Persephone and Master Hades..' A soft girly voice sounded causing the Underworld couple's eyes to snap open, suddenly aware that at some point during their passionate moment the Sirens had returned. As one they turned to find Tele blushing and looking at the floor while her identical sisters Molpe and Raidne were shielding their faces and trying not to look at their bosses still entwined on the throne. The three virginal girls looked as if their innocent little violet eyes had been sullied by the sight of their bosses smooching and frisking each other fervently. Persephone smiled at her minions' embarrassment grateful they'd interrupted now while there was nothing to see… though the Sirens acted as if there was something to see just proving that they truly were pure and inexperienced in love.

Hades let out an exasperated groan as his wife quickly scooted out of his lap and onto her side of the throne and fluffed her hair demurely.

'Alright girls… what'cha got for me?' The fiery god drawled as the three girls slowly returned their eyes to their bosses before looking remorseful.

'I'm sorry my Lord..' Tele sounded regretfully. '-we retraced Master Thanatos' steps..' Raidne suddenly took over from her sister, she too looked just as remorseful.

'-he collected all the souls right up until the point the was supposed to collect that Sisyphus-guy's..' Persephone blinked as Hades groaned and slapped his face.

'Oy vey..' He drawled irritably, it seemed his suspicions were being confirmed. He then held up a hand to stop Molpe who was about to add something. 'Alright that'll do-'

'_Hades_…' Hermes' disembodied voice sounded panicked cutting off Hades and causing him to look around towards the sound confused. The next second the blue god shot into the throne room like a bullet causing the Sirens to jump up and flap their feathery wings, dispersing leaving only a few white feathers behind. The three girls all shot up to the large dusty candelabra and gazed down as the blue god picked himself up from the floor where they'd been moments before.

'Hades, we've got a serious _IX I I.._' Hermes garbled anxiously. '-the souls that Thanatos was supposed to collect after dropping off Sisyphus are stuck.'

'_Stuck?_' Hades repeated bemused, frowning concerned before kinking a brow. 'Whadda ya mean they're 'stuck'?'

'I mean their spirits have left their bodies but they're still attached by life-lines.' The tiny blue god carried on as both Hades and Persephone exchanged a worried glance. 'I've never seen anything like this before. They say their dead but they can't leave their body.'

'So their still alive?' Persephone asked tentatively, her green eyes anxiously flickered between her husband and Hermes.

'Kind of..' Hermes responded causing Hades to frown irritably.

'Whadda ya mean _'kind of'_..' Hades snarled furiously. '-either they are or they aren't, there's no in-between!' The fiery god flared a nasty shade of orange.

'I would beg to differ on that one H-Man..' Hermes responded lightly pushing his rose-tinted specs back up the bridge of his nose. '-the bodies of these souls are completely comatose, they breathe like their in a deep sleep but their soul is standing outside their body attached to the life-line. These guys are neither living nor dead but trapped between the two.'

'Oh sweetie..' Persephone moaned, clutching her husband's arm as tears brimmed her eyes. The fate of the souls in her charge had always been one of her top concerns and she felt sorry for the poor souls trapped in a kind of limbo between life and death. '-we have to do something, Thanatos would never leave a soul hanging..'

'Sephy I agree with ya babe.' The fiery god glowered deeply at nothing in particular. '-but we still need to hear from the imps before we act..'

As if on cue both imps appeared in the throne room causing the three gods, and three Sirens on the candelabra above, to gaze over at them almost dreading their news.

'Well..' Hades prompted them when the imps failed to say anything right away but were rather put off by the stares.

'Uh..' Panic sounded vaguely. '-it's a nice day up there.'

'As long as it doesn't rain..' Pain chipped in and Hades only gave a light-but-false chuckle.

'C'mon..' He sounded in a soft voice looking almost pleadingly at them for news and both imps glanced at each other and sighed.

'That Sisyphus guy is still waltzing around up there boss.' Pain spoke gently.

'Yeh, but we don't know what happened to Thanatos but he was definitely there.' Panic added in a small voice.

'_What?_' Hades sounded almost combusting with shock. Hermes only clamped a hand over his mouth in horror.

'How do you know that?' Persephone sounded tentatively, her fingers clasping her husband for support sensing a huge blow coming. She felt her husband squeeze back nervously.

'We, uh…' Pain twisted his tail apprehensively and sweated profusely. '-we found this in a ravine just outside the state of Corinth.' As the chubby pink imp spoke Panic summoned the object the two of them had discovered into the throne room and it wedged itself into the stone floor.

Out of a shimmer of green appeared a long black-handled scythe with an ominous and lethal-looking curved blade. Along the dark cypress-wooded handle written in silver letters was: **Property of the God of Death.**

'Oh gods.. _no!_' Persephone gasped out loud and began to feel a sickly leap in her stomach at the sight of her son's most prized possession. This confirmed her worst fears… something awful had happened to Thanatos! Hades on the other hand glowered at it furiously before suddenly springing to his feet looking as though he was literally going to blow a gasket.

'Alright, _that does it_.' The fiery god declared angrily before descending the few steps to his throne.

'Where are you going?' Persephone sounded in an anxious tone, seeing the dark look that crossed her husband's face.

'I'm gonna have a little _talk_ with Zeus..' Hades sounded grimly as he pulled the scythe out of the ground, intending to take it with him. 'I gotta know what Sisyputz did to earn a spot in Tartarus..' Then without another word the fiery god vanished in a tower of flames.

Both Hermes and Persephone exchanged a worried look.

'Why do I get the feeling this isn't gonna go well..' Hermes finally drawled as Pain and Panic blinked at the spot where their boss had just been moments before. Both imps looked completely bemused as they slowly turned to their lady boss.

'So did we do a good job or not?' Pain sounded unsurely scratching his head.

Persephone only groaned and placed her head in her hand.

'Oy… imps.'

* * *

'_Hera!_' Zeus bellowed as he banged a fist on the cloudy door where his wife had locked herself in and was refusing to come out. 'You can't stay in there for eternity!'

'I could try!' Hera's voice snapped back angrily from the other side.

'It was just a stupid mistake!' The tanned god sounded in a loud pleading voice.

'Oh. Like all your other 'mistakes'?' Hera snapped back.

'Hera, I said I was sorry..' Zeus pleaded pressing his hand against the pink cloudy door, not daring to push through as his wife had his thunder bolts in there. Her aim might be lousy but she could still hurt him if she wanted too. '-we need to talk about this.'

'I don't want to talk now _go away!_' Hera screeched, clearly upset. Zeus sighed heavily, deciding to give his wife time to cool off. The Lord of Olympus then slumped down on the step opposite their room and rested his bearded chin in his hand glumly.

'Oh-hoh! What's this..' A familiar cool drawl sounded from behind the tanned god as the Lord of the Dead appeared out of a rush of blue flames. '-is Zeusy in the Cerberus house again?'

'Not now Hades..' Zeus grunted irritably waving off his little brother. '-I'm in no mood.'

'Yeh, well, tough-' The fiery god flared nastily. '-cause this ain't no social call.' His yellow eyes narrowed into slits of annoyance at Zeus' moping, his domestic problems didn't interest Hades in the slightest. 'I need to know what Sisyphus did.'

'Why?' Zeus sounded frowning at what had just been demanded of him.

'Why? _Why!_' Hades snarled irritably feeling his restraint slip a few notches. 'Because thanks to your_ brilliant _idea of sending a nine year old god out to collect a Tartarian convict _I am now missing a son!' _The fiery god glared ruthlessly at Zeus waiting for the Lord of Olympus to say something.

'So is Sisyphus in Tartarus?' Zeus asked calmly.

'_No he's not! _And even if he _was _I would still need to know what he did so I could issue him a fair and just punishment..' If looks could kill Zeus would be dead three times over as Hades glowered at his older 'biological' brother.

'He's not in Tartarus?' Zeus sounded surprised before turning cross. 'Hades that mortal is dangerous! _You have to detain him now!_' The golden tanned god roared angrily before adding in a slightly softer voice. 'For the good of the cosmos.'

'Oh, no, no, no, no, no…' Hades shook his flaming head violently causing his flames to flicker. '-I'm not doing anything until you tell me what he did to earn a spot in Tartarus.' A nasty smirk appeared on the Lord of the Dead's face as Zeus looked uneasy, he had him now.

'Alright. Fine Hades.' The golden skinned god sighed heavily at his words. 'If you really must know he gave away a divine secret..' Zeus folded his arms tightly looking put out.

'What kind of divine secret?' Hades pressed still annoyed that Zeus couldn't have told this earlier but curious to know what it was at the same time.

'That doesn't matter.' Zeus sounded stubbornly.

'Oh I think it does..' Hades responded sharply before adding in a low deadly voice. 'What secret did Sisyphus betray?'

'Zeus' latest affair.' A cool female voice sounded from behind Hades causing his round eyes to bulge in shock and spin around shocked to see Hera standing their with a dark look on her face.

'Excuse me?' The fiery god sounded confused.

'Hera…' Zeus sounded sternly. '-this has nothing to do with him.' The Queen of the Gods ignored her husband's words and stayed focused on Hades.

'Zeus has been having an affair with a girl named Aegina, daughter of the river guardian Asopus. The two were spotted by Sisyphus who exchanged this information with the girl's father for a fresh water spring.' Hera spoke and glared hatefully at her husband.

There was silence for a long moment before Hades literally exploded with shock.

'_What?~!_'

The fiery god then rounded onto Zeus looking murderous.

'You mean to tell me that the schmeil you sent my kid after caught you.. _having an affair?~!_' Hades roared his skin turning a deep fuming orange shade as his yellow flames flickered across his shoulders. Hades' nostrils flared angrily as the god to shaky seething breaths trying to digest the truth of the situation. He'd always known Zeus was an imbecile but this was… this was… _unbelievable_.

Hera watched the fiery god seethe with unrepressed fury. She felt sorry for the Underworld couple but she couldn't help but take vindictive pleasure out of this, Zeus had not only been unfaithful to her but he'd duped Hades into letting his only son go out on a personal vendetta… something Hades would have never agreed to in the first place. The Lord of the Underworld had always stated that Tartarus was home to the most evil mortals in all of existence, their logic so twisted that they all saw themselves as innocent even though evidence of their crimes were staggering.

'Ah, _heh-heh_… now Hades, this isn't a big deal..'

Hera blinked her big blue eyes in disbelief at the stupidity of her husband as Hades' eyes narrowed with further fury, his face burning a deep nasty shade of red.

'_Not… a… big… deal.._' Hades teeth gritted as his flames burned with brighter. '_You lousy son-of-a-titan!_'The fiery god snarled wrathfully. 'I've told you a bazillion times _Bolt Boy_, the Underworld does _not_ run your personal errands! If you had wanted that jerk taken care of you should have got Hermes to drag him down, _that's what he gets paid for!_'

'I told you he'd react this way..' Hera sounded snidely towards Zeus who frowned at her before flashing Hades an oily smirk.

'I wanted Thanatos to do it so he could see what kind of slippery slope he was on..' Zeus sounded resolutely causing Hades to roll his eyes irritably.

'Well _Mr High and Mighty_, it may interest you to know that because of _your_ actions my son is now _missing!_' Hades sneered disrespectfully at his older 'biological' brother.

'What?' Hera suddenly looked worried, Thanatos might be a bit rambunctious at times and spoke his mind freely with no fear of consequences but she'd always liked that about him.

'That's not my problem Hades..' Zeus folded his arms stubbornly. '-if you can't control that brat of yours then-'

'_And_..' Hades snarled loudly over the end of Zeus' words, the fiery god's skin calmed to an irate orange once more as a nasty smirk played his lips. '-until Thanatos returns home, the Underworld will remain closed..' Hera gasped at this statement seeing th fiery god was deadly serious and Zeus frowned deeply at his younger brother who was looking very pleased with himself.

'You can't do that!' The tanned god of Olympus roared angrily.

'Just watch me..' Hades sneered his nasty smirk widening to flash a row of his white fangs. The next second he vanished in a tower of yellow flames before Zeus could respond.

The golden Lord of Olympus fumed furiously before noticing that Hera was still standing in the pink cloudy doorway.

'So… are you ready to talk?' Zeus asked her smiling hopefully and the lilac-skinned goddess frowned deeply at him.

'_No!_' Hera screeched slamming her pink cloudy door in his face.

'_Aww_, Fate dammit… c'mon Hera..' Zeus pleaded. '-you can't stay mad at me forever..'

'I can try..' She snarled back.

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Heya peeps… This chapter took ages to write as there were so many things to place into it and it took several rewrites to get it right, I wanted the emotions coming from both Hades and Persephone to seem as genuine as possible._

_In the myth of Thanatos and Sisyphus, once the God of Death was detained all death stopped (hence the chapter title) but in the Hercules series Hades was acting as a Death God and also can act as a secondary God of Death in my fics… having him strike coincides with the mythical aspects of the story, which I'll go into more details in the next chapter. It also links Hades to Demeter who striked in both myth and my first fic P.o.P when her daughter was missing.._

_Until next time…_

_Ditzy Xx_


	29. A Subterranean Realm goes on Strike,,

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**BubblyButtons2me: Thanks hun! X**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: Lol, he's right where we left him… X**_

_**DakraixCresselia: Hmmm, why don't you feel sorry for Zeus? Err… maybe cause he's a jerk? Besides, you aren't meant to feel sorry for the villain of the story XP **_

_**Black Diamond07: I find Zeus in the film and series a little too false for my liking, in myth the real Zeus was never that attentive to his children, although the creators of Hercules got one thing right…. Out of his mortal children Herc was his favourite. As for Hera, she was always far too fluffy and although she had her stern points she was still far too soft, when writing Hera I solely use the episode Tiff on Olympus, it's the only episode which displays her closest to her real myth character.. X**_

_**DisneyPrincess: I agree, having no kids of my own makes these chapters very hard to write… I kind of have to go on instinct and how I suspect the characters would react to such a situation. It's difficult, hence why updates are not quite as quick as they usually are, I have had to write and rewrite parts just to make it believable. As for the souls that are trapped on the surface, unable to move because Thanatos hasn't chopped their life-lines.. They are actually meant to suggest that they are in a coma (having a sort of Outer Body Experience)… zombies are dead bodies who have been brought part-way back to life. X**_

_**Megacarrol: I actually had no plans to write other gods reactions until later but now that you mention Demeter I will have to write a little bit on her, she is very fond of her grandkids and after what happened with Persephone I doubt her reaction will be pretty. X**_

_**Princess Aaliyah: I don't want to give too much away but… yep, in fact, she might already be here, wink, wink, nudge.. As for a Christmas Special, me and Stay did speak briefly about it but nothing was planned so, sorry hun… maybe next year X**_

_**MusicLuver78901: Believe it or not I did not change that many details of the actual myth! If you look Sisyphus up on the net you'll see he did indeed exchange information on Zeus and the river god's daughter for a spring fountain… Zeus ordered Thanatos to take him to Tartarus and Sisyphus trapped Death in shackles putting a halt to souls dying.. I won't say the rest for now but I won't be changing too many details in the actual myth ;) X **_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Twenty-Nine:****A Subterranean Realm goes on Strike…**

_..Darkness.._

_..The walls? Are they creepin' in?.._

Thanatos sighed heavily and shook his head wearily.

_..Oy vey.. it's official, now I'm losin' it.._

It seemed like he'd been stuck in this tiny closet for eternity, although it was probably more like three or four days… six tops. The white-skinned god couldn't be sure of the _exact_ time as his tiny 'prison' was pitch black and therefore offered no clue to the actual time he'd been there. The closet was merely a tiny rectangular space, just enough room for Thanatos to stand up in but the godling chose to slouch down by the floor with his feet and back pressing against opposite walls… it gave him a false sense of space.

Upon finding himself trapped in this extremely confined area the first thing the white-skinned godling had done was dislocate both his shoulders, veering his manacled arms up over his head and around the front of his chest before popping each shoulder back into place with two sickening cracks. The godling winced as he did this, cursing under his breath because this was a far less painful thing to do in skeletal form… however, since he was shut in this _fate_-forsaken closet until further notice he didn't wish to burn out his energy.. That would be stupid.

Pain and Panic-style stupid.

_..Pain and Panic?.._

Thanatos felt a strange sensation inside him, inwardly groaning with an unhappy expression feeling another pang of longing for his underworld home… or maybe it was the weary sense of his dwindling powers due to lack of nourishment.

The white-skinned godling had not tasted ambrosia or nectar since he'd been imprisoned. For the first little while the godling had been getting hunger pangs but those had slowly ebbed as the godling slowly felt himself weakening. Thanatos stretched a white hand gingerly to his head and touched the dome of his bald white cranium tentatively.. He didn't even have enough energy to sustain his golden-flaming quiff. His head felt strangely cold without them now and when he tried to ignite he merely sparked a few times before giving up.

Thanatos knew that he had had a sinking feeling in his gut the day Zeus had ordered him to go and pick up this Sisyputz-guy, it was the same feeling he got whenever he could sense impending doom… he just hadn't realized it was his own doom he had sensed. To make his dire situation worse than it already was, there was only one key that unlocked the manacles that linked his wrists together and it was in Hades' possession… which meant that when his father _finally _tracked him down, he would be _far_ from pleased to see him..

_..Oy, there__'s that sinking feelin' again.._

Movement from the other side of the closet brought Thanatos out of his fretful brooding on what his father would say if he could see him now.. The godling froze, listening intently to the muffled sounds coming from the throne room. Sisyphus had been hiding out in his palace ever since trapping the juvenile God of Death-in-training inside his closet. Since the mortal _clearly_ was on Zeus' Hit List it wouldn't be long before Olympus realised that he was still on the surface. It was strange to Thanatos that the likes of Hermes hadn't been dispatched to check up on him, perhaps this 'Sisy-guy' wasn't as big a criminal as his dense uncle had made out.. _Oh that would be just peachy… trapped by a royal scapegoat.. _It would be just like his uncle Zeus to set him up like that. Thanatos didn't know whether or not to be relived or insulted that during the entire time he'd been trapped in the closet Sisyphus had barely acknowledged his presence. Except of course when he felt like gloating about 'beating death'..

On these rare moments of interaction Thanatos took malicious pleasure out of irritating the King of Corinth by carelessly pointing out that 'Death always gets his mark'. This was usually followed by silence as Sisyphus stormed off to sulk until he was ready to jeer at Thanatos again..

..It seemed that time was now as Sisyphus' voice rang out clearly from the other side of the door.

'Well, well… how is our _little_ Prisoner of Death?' Sisyphus drawled in an amused tone causing Thanatos to roll his golden eyes and fold his arms with difficulty due to his handcuffs.

'Oh, ha-ha… that gets funnier every time I hear it..' The godling shot back sarcastically.

'_Humph_.' Sisyphus snorted unimpressed by Thanatos' response. 'You gods are all the same… you think that just because your immortal you can push us around..' He paused before adding, Thanatos didn't have to see a smirk as he could hear it forming on the mortal king's face through his voice. '-well I got news for you _little_ god-' Sisyphus always accentuated the word 'little' as if he was using it to verbally jab Thanatos. '-I managed to push _you_ around, didn't I?' He declared complete with a short burst of gleeful evil laughter to punctuate his point.

Once more Thanatos rolled his eyes wearily.

'Your proud of this, ain'tcha?' The white-skinned godling sneered disrespectfully back to thee mortal on the other side of the door..

'Whatta you mean, am I 'proud of this'?' Sisyphus glared at the closet door, slightly ticked off by the godling's response… did this dim-witted deity not grasp his situation. 'I have subdued Death _itself!_'

'_Uhh_, hate to break this to ya Sisy_putz.._' Thanatos had learnt very quickly that this name ticked Sisyphus off more than anything else. '-but, uh… no ya haven't, what you did was just lock a little kid in a closet..'

'Stop trying to demean my achievement!' Sisyphus snapped as his face tinged a frustrated pink. 'I have managed to do what no man before me has done..'

'_Yeh_..' Thanatos drawled lazily, sliding himself down further as his feet rose above his head. '-you've managed to not only annoy Zeus you've also inflamed my dad Hades and given him an excuse to get 'personal' with your punishment..' Thanatos clapped a slow mocking applause. 'Bra_-voh_..'

Sisyphus seethed irritably, this immortal boy was really pushing his buttons now.

'They can't touch me..' The mortal king smirked as he hissed the words viciously. '-as long as I have _you_..'

_..Damn_.. Thanatos cursed inwardly. Sisyphus had him there. The godling was silent for a few seconds as he thought of a comeback.

'It doesn't matter.' Thanatos shrugged him off casually then paused.. then slowly, a wide creepy leer twisted on his lips, his eyes narrowed sinisterly then he added in an eerily low voice. '-Death _always_ finds a way..'

* * *

Persephone looked around her son's empty bedroom with a mournful gleam in her bright green eyes. His room was exactly the same as it had been when he'd left it to go and collect the newest prisoner for Tartarus. The blonde goddess couldn't remember the stupid mortal's name but since managing the realm of fire and brimstone was her husband's job it didn't matter… all that mattered to her was that thanks to Zeus and his stupid order her eldest baby was missing.

The Queen of the Underworld sighed before flopping down on her son's small bed, wincing at how firm it was. Thanatos preferred a firm bed, just like his father used to before she'd shown him the pleasures of a softer mattress. The goddess then noticed Mr Skelton, the small skeletal teddy was still sitting on the bed, just like it had always done since Hades had given it to him. Persephone picked up the small black and white toy and smiled gently at it, a single tear threatening to roll down her cheek.

She missed her son so much… the Underworld seemed so empty without him.

'Mom..' A cool girly voice sounded and instantly Persephone snapped out of her thoughts and turned her blonde head towards the doorway, seeing her pale blue-skinned seven year old daughter standing there. Melinoe's green eyes looked concerned as she gazed at her mother, the elder goddess then flicked the forming tear away demurely.

'Dad's back..' The way her daughter's words came out made Persephone kink a brow, her voice was anxious and tense rather than pleased. '-and he's just ordered an Underworld Lock Down.' The sombre glint in Melinoe's eyes and the seriousness of her tone was enough to tell Persephone her daughter was telling the truth… that and Melinoe was not one for jokes.

'_What?_' The Queen of the Underworld sounded in disbelief. She then bounced off of her son's bed and shot out of the bedroom as fast as her black-heeled feet would let her… something very serious must have happened on Olympus to make Hades cease all Underworld business. '_Ohh_… I knew I should have gone with him.. what has Zeus done now?' Persephone frowned as she flew down the stairs to the throne room. Her pale blue daughter was right behind her, desperately wanting to know what the Tartarus was going on..

* * *

Hades slowly walked down the docks of the Styx, his face was set into a solemn and severe expression as his round golden eyes looked vacantly ahead. Inside the fiery god was still smarting from the revelation that Zeus had undermined his Underworld system once again. The Lord of the Dead and Head Honcho of the Underworld was so enraptured with his hatred towards Zeus and the vindictive pleasure he was going to take out of this subterranean industrial action that he did not acknowledge Charon, who was practically quivering nervously as his boss approached him. The skeletal boatman had always kept his nose clean… not that this was difficult as he didn't have one in the first place. He didn't know why there was no souls coming in to the Underworld, it was always Thanatos who took note of the new arrivals and the manner in which they died. But nobody had seen the boss' kid in nearly five days and how was he supposed to ferry souls if Thanatos didn't send him any?

Charon winced as Hades stretched out a hand towards him and the skeletal boatman coward away, covering his face with his bony hand as his fiery boss snapped his fingers. His eyes still cold and blank as the god was clearly still lost in thought as he turned away without so much as a backwards glance at the boatman. When Charon eventually pulled his hand from his hollow eye sockets, he realised that rather than smite him Hades had chained his long black gondola to the docks by a tight smoky chain. He'd been hunkered down..

Charon blinked in confusion.

In all his centuries of working the docks he'd never been hunkered down before. The boatman then shrugged before dropping his oar and slumping down onto the deck of the boat and whipped out his copy of the Greekly World News. Well, if he was hunkered down he might as well make the most of it..

The Lord of the Dead meanwhile continued down his path, following the path of the Styx around the House of Hades until he reached the lip where the river Styx split had formed the slight oxbow in which his skull palace was built on. Hades raised his arms, looking up into the vast black cavernous void above him before hesitating. He'd never resorted to closing off the Underworld from the surface before.. but then again, one of his own children had never gone missing before. The fiery god had considered asking the Fates where his son was, since they knew everything they would no doubt know. But the old crones would never tell him where Thanatos was, instead they would him some ridiculously snide little rhyme like: _'To give an answer means no lesson learned, you must search leaving no stone unturned..'_

He wouldn't give the old bags the satisfaction of telling him something he knew already. It would be easier to just shut down the Underworld completely so he could search for Thanatos himself..

Hades sighed heavily, then almost reluctantly the god's blue flames brightened as his hands glowed blue. He frowned with concentration as this particular power was not one he had had to exercise since the Titan War and it had almost drained him then. The blue light from his fingers instantly spread, dancing through the caverns of the Underworld in spidery webs of pale blue light, bouncing off of the walls as they travelled to the entrances to the subterranean realm.

The entrance to the Underworld in the gloomy Temple of Necromancy began to grind slowly to a close with the noise of stone on stone. At exactly the same moment the entrance on the south-side of the Underworld, located in the Grove of Asphodels, began to close. With the two outer entrances shut the two inner entrances located on the two large meanders either side of the House of Hades grinded closed, sealing the Underworld tight shut. At this moment the pale blue webs of light vanished as Hades flames and palms returned to normal, his golden eyes instantly snapped open and a twisted leer twisted across his lips.

Now that the Underworld was completely sealed off from the upper realms Hades was free to go and search for his son…

…right after he briefed his wife on the situation.

_Don't worry kiddo, Daddy's comin'.._

* * *

'Wow…' Persephone gasped, sinking down slowly onto the two-seater throne after listening to her husband tell her what had happened on Olympus. She seemed somewhat blown away by this new revelation.

'Zeus was-?' The white-skinned goddess tried again to speak but her mind was still trying to take the truth in. 'Oh, _wow_..' She murmured awestruck again, her dainty hand touched her forehead lightly as she digested the truth, feeling her heart congeal with fresh anxiety over their missing son.

'I know..' Hades muttered gently, sympathizing with his wife. '-this is huge..'

'Ok, I think I'm missing something here..' Melinoe suddenly piped up causing both her parents to look around to her as if only just noticing she was there. She was such a quiet unassuming deity that she was often disregarded until she spoke. '-why don't we do personal vendettas?' Melinoe cocked her pale head causing her electric blue hair to swirl and snake as she looked curiously at her father. Hades sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose with a bite of exasperation before he then lowered his hand and looked back to his daughter's curious gaze. It wasn't her fault she had asked such an obvious question, she was only a little girl who knew very little about want went on in her Underworld home. Hades knew that Melinoe missed her older brother, for the last four days the little goddess had moped around the Underworld home looking more forlorn than usual… she like them wanted her brother to come home.

'Because baby girl, that's Hermes' job.' Hades responded but this answer just seemed to confuse Melinoe further as her eyebrows rose higher up her brow.

'What your father means sweet-pea..' Persephone sounded in a slow voice, trying to explain it a bit better. '-is that the only time we ever get involved with the collection of a Tartarus-bound soul is when they've committed serious Crimes Against the Cosmos, y'know-' The blonde Queen of the Underworld twirled her wrist offhandedly as she gave her examples. '-like Prometheus, when he disobeyed Zeus' order and gave fire to the mortals or Typhon for when he tried to destroy all the gods-'

'Ex_actly_.' Hades drawled, nodding his blue-flamed head in agreement with his wife and flashing his daughter a sharp-fanged smirk. 'We don't get involved for _piffy_ little reasons like 'he-caught-me-cheating-on-my-wife-and-sold-me-out-for-a-fresh-water-spring', we're not here to pander to the whims of those self-_absorbed_ _schlubs_.' The fiery god's flaming hair flickered to a nasty yellow shade as he simmered with anger at their situation.

'Settle down sweetie..' Persephone squeezed his fingers affectionately and her husband took a deep breath and sighed, his flames retuning slowly to their normal blue.

'I know, I'm cool, I'm fine..' Hades shrugged off his lapse in temper with a dismissive hum. '-it just burns my flames when Bolt Boy thinks he can flout Underworld Policy. These laws are there for a reason, y'know..'

'I know..' Persephone smiled sweetly at him, rubbing his fingers soothingly. '-they're there to protect us from being exploited.'

'Exploited?' Melinoe echoed sounding both astonished and sickened.

'We're second-class gods Meli..' Hades sounded darkly, his eyes narrowing with hatred at the thought of his 'biological' brother on Olympus. '-if Zeusy thought he could get away with it, he'd waltz right over us..' The fiery god paused as his knuckles clenched before he loosed his grip and pulled himself out of his sombre stupor. '-but I won't let that happen.' He finished sounding much more like his usual self.

'So what are we going to do about Thanatos?' Melinoe asked, wanting to steer the subject away from Olympus and back onto her brother before her father decided to spontaneously combust. Persephone blinked then turned to her husband, curious to know what he was thinking of doing now the Underworld was shut off from the upper realms.

'Well shnookums, now that daddy has officially shut down the Underworld, this frees him up to go out and look for Than on the surface.' Hades smirked a self-assured leer which flashed the wisdom-fangs at the back of his mouth.

'Can't we just ask the Fates to give us a hint?' Persephone immediately asked causing his wide smirk to drop into a solemn grimace.

'They won't help us.' The blue-flamed god sighed. '-ya know as well as I do Sephy that they'll jerk us around with idle chit-chat before spoutin' some infuriatingly pompous little verse like-' Hades pulled a surprisingly accurate version of Clotho's snide nasally voice. '-_'No lesson's learned when the future's foretold, you must wait for events to unfold.'_..'

'_Urh_..' Persephone sighed heavily, nodding wearily. '-I guess your right… I just thought that with Atropos being Than's mentor she might-'

'She won't.' Hades cut of her final words. 'Atropos may be Than's mentor but she has an agenda of her own, whatever she has planned for the kid I'm sure she will expect us to figure this one out ourselves..' Persephone hung her head feeling something like a small swoop in her stomach. She assumed it was probably just worry and she felt another tear threatening to trickle out of her eye. When she raised her head to her husband the goddess looked as though she would burst into tears at any moment.

'I just don't want you to go..' She whispered softly.

'Seph…' Hades sounded surprised and a little alarmed by her watery voice and weepy expression. '-I gotta go find our son, who else is gonna do it?' Persephone gave a sniff and flicked the tears from her lashes.

'I know that..' She sounded in the same upset tone. '-but my emotions are so sensitive and jumbled, I've lost a son… I don't think I could handle it if you went too..' The goddess then lent her blonde head on his shoulder and began to weep softly into his chiton. Hades blinked several times in shock at how quickly her emotional state had changed before sighing and wrapping his arms around her, stroking her blonde hair soothingly.

'Hey, hey… don't get yourself worked up my sweet.' He sighed in a low warm voice, jiggling her softly in an attempt to calm her down.

'Maybe dad doesn't have to go looking for Than..' Melinoe's cool soft voice interrupted their tender moment.

'Huh?' Hades sounded confused as his wife pulled her head from his shoulder, flashing her daughter confused and blood-shot eyes.

'What do you mean?' The goddess sounded in a soft faint tone.

'_Duh_.' Melinoe replied with a flippant wave of her pale blue fingers. 'Death has stopped right?' The little goddess suddenly smirked widely at her bemused parents and continued in a light-hearted tone. 'Now I don't know about you guys but I can think of _one_ god who's gonna be pretty pissed when he finds out about this..'

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey peeps, this is the last post of 2011 so I'll say Happy New Year and good luck for 2012, I sincerely hope the doomsday rumours are false as I am going to become Auntie Ditzy this Feb! Having said that my New Year Plea to others is to review at least one story either by a relatively unknown/new writer or an understated story… one good deed deserves another, whatta you say guys? X_

_Sorry for the delay in updating, there is so much to consider that these chapters are taking a bit of time to write and I want them to be perfect when they are posted... I'd also like to take the time to thank my silent readers who some writers can forget about. Feedback and favourites are nice but without you guys popping in and out my status numbers would be lot lower… thanks guys!_

_Ok, now that the mush is out of the way, let's get back to the story…_

_Again more Zeus bashing, I think your used to it but I'm trying to paint a picture of how hard Underworld existence is and how easy it would have been for Zeus to push his weight around. After all, Hades tried to overthrow Zeus for a reason that Disney's Hercules didn't supply so I've been slowly adding more and more, by the time this fic is finished you'll all see the full picture of why Hades did what he did.._

_Melinoe is really starting to come out on her own here, I always imagined her to be a kind of subterranean Athena (without the virginal goddess bit) a sort of voice of reason and a calming influence in the Underworld. Out of all my characters she is the most likely to come off Mary-Sueish as her personality is fairly sombre and grim, I don't mean her to come out so two-dimensional but she has inherited Hades' more gloomy aspects and I will try to flesh her out some more later on._

_Hmmm, I wonder when Than is gonna come outta the closet? Ha-ha-ha… get-it? LoL XD_

_Until next year!~!_

_Ditzy X_

_P.S. At some point in 2012 I will be writing a one-shot dedicated to all Thanatos' fans entitled: An Interview with Death. It will be Merv Griffin interviewing Thanatos so if any of you can think of questions that you would like Thanatos to answer please let me know by either review or p.m and Merv will ask your question! X_


	30. A Little Ray of Hope

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**BubblyButtons2me: I thought so too! =) X**_

_**WikiSorcerer: Whoops, my bad hun! I assumed that your question was about the newest chap so wrote the p.m. reply on it but I realise now you meant chapter twenty (boy is my face red), in answer to your question hun there really is no myth in that chap, apart from the suggestion of Apollo's philandering ways and Hades wanting to protect his daughter from it, and that chap wasn't a story arc but just a filler chap intending to describe Underworld life with two young children. X**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: Woohoo! Somebody got it! *does a happy little dance before realising how stupid she looks and stops* Ahem, let's never speak of that again! And Hmmmm, somehow I think you might be onto something.. X**_

_**DisneyPrincess: Good luck for 2012... I must admit that's what I love about Than, even in a bad situation he's quite willing to make someone else suffer along with him too… wonder where he get's that from? And yup, Zeus really is coming off as quite a jerk… and by the looks of this chap he ain't getting' any better *sighs*. And as for Seph, I gave my hint already but the answer will come soon I promise X**_

_**MusicLuver78901: Lol, at least you remembered, hope 2012 treats you well… Just look below to find out who Mel was on about but you might just have to wait one more chap to see what happens to the scheming King of Corinth… I promise it's gonna be good! XD**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Thirty:****A Little Ray of Hope…**

'Whatta ya mean the Underworld's on strike!' Ares bellowed furiously. It had been two days since Hades had sealed the lower realms of Ais off from the upper realms and despite the fact that Hermes had immediately informed Zeus of this, his last favour to the Underworld before he found himself locked out, the tanned Lord of Olympus had only just gotten around to telling the rest of the Olympian council. Zeus had assumed that this was just a joke… Hades was infamous for griping and moaning about his position but he did run one tight Tartarus. His work record was flawless, no matter how grouchy the fiery god was he took care of every soul in his charge and ensured a fair and just afterlife depending on the quality of life. He was so good that Zeus could not find fault with the way he ran the Underworld, hence why he had let Hades keep his position after the 'Titan incident'. But in the two days following Hades' shock announcement the only subterranean inhabitants to grace the surface with their presence were Nyx, Erebus and Morpheus.

'The Underworld's on strike?' Demeter echoed confused, ignoring her red-skinned nephew who's temple vein was pulsing as furiously as his glowing red aura. She'd been so busy with this years harvests, trying once again to best her previous years in bounty, that the green-skinned goddess had not had the chance to visit either Olympus or the subterranean part of her family yet… she knew nothing of what had happened in the last week and was now looking worried.

'How am I supposed to insight a war when the Underworld's on strike?' Ares burst out again, unable to silence his volatile temper for long. 'I slay 'em he buries 'em, that was the agreement that Hades and I struck up during the Bronze Age!'

'Well my suggestion dear brother..' Came the unmistakable snooty voice of Athena as she smirked at his frustration. '-is that you don't insight a war until Thanatos is found.'

'Humph. That's easy for you to say.' Ares responded in a petulant voice folding his arms.

'Wait..' Demeter gasped with shock over Athena's words, clearly she had been away from Olympus for far too long. '-Thanatos is _what?-!_'

The crowd of Olympian council gods all silenced as the Goddess of Nature's usually cheerful and amiable nature seemed to melt away, her already wilting corn-leaf crown slowly turned golden as an angry scowl twisted across her face. Even Ares who was still miffed over the fact that he couldn't insight a war as no soul would die during it wiped the scowl off of his face and tried to look as inconspicuous as possible… this was why nobody had told Demeter that her grandson was missing before now. Her fierce protectiveness over her family was well known especially after Persephone went 'missing'… none of the deities were going to forget that in a hurry.

'How long has he been missing Zeus?' Demeter's head snapped around to her older brother, her voice was low and cool as she addressed him, second guessing that he had something to do with her grandson's disappearance.

'Well, I uh..' Zeus faltered under her stern gaze, knowing that she would not like the answer.

'_How.._ long.' Demeter repeated in an icier tone, frost threatening to form on her corn-leaf crown.

'Ever since I sent the kid after Sisyphus..' Zeus winced uncomfortably, he could feel Hera's satisfied smirk forming behind him as his wife had been taking particular enjoyment out of this.

Demeter thought for a moment, trying to remember when Hermes had told her that Thanatos had been sentenced to do this task for Zeus.

'Seven days..' Demeter sounded before hearing the time aloud then repeating it with more venom. '-_Seven days! My_ grandson has been missing for _seven days?-!_'

All of the Olympian council members around the table winced at the tone and volume of Demeter's voice. Zeus even wiggled a finger in his ear to try and get rid of the after-ringing, she had definitely inherited Gaia's set of lungs.

'Now Demeter, I know your upset-' The tanned Lord of Olympus was instantly cut off.

'What are you going to do about it?' Demeter remarked coldly, folding her arms tightly across her large bosom.

'Do?' Zeus repeated dimly, not following the Nature Goddess and this caused Demeter to scowl deeper at him.

'About _finding_ Thanatos!' She snapped angrily, two angry red patches appearing on her cheeks as her patience was slipping further now.

'I hadn't really thought about that.' Zeus sounded dismissively but the moment the words came out he realised this was the wrong thing to say as Demeter's face reddened further.

'_Zeus_..' Her voice was short, sharp and decisive. '-the Underworld is on strike, the God of Death is missing, there will be souls down there-' She gestured crossly down towards the surface of Greece. '-unable to leave their lifeless corpses or get into the Underworld until Thanatos is found! Now I _suggest_ you send someone out to track down Hades' child and return him home to his parents or I swear by the Styx.. Hades will be the _least _of your problems!' Demeter instantly pushed herself out of her seat as her large orange tulip appeared out of the ground and with one final haughty sniff the Goddess of Nature disappeared back through the clouds to continue on with her harvest duties, leaving the rest of the gods to look around to each other, silently wondering which one of them would volunteer for this mission.

Zeus groaned heavily and slapped his forehead. This 'Thanatos business' was turning into one ungodly nightmare. He didn't particularly _want_ to send a god to search for the insolent brat of Hades and Persephone's but Demeter was not known for idle threats. With the devastation that she'd caused when her own daughter had gone missing fresh in his mind Zeus reluctantly lowered his hand and straightened to look around the table at the gods in his presence.

'Hmmm..' Zeus stroked his beard thoughtfully. '-who should I send out after Thanatos?' Immediately the female goddesses tried to make themselves as inconspicuous as possible, Aphrodite even went as far as to cover her face with a pink fan so he would not chose her. Zeus' sky blue eyes instantly dismissed the females of the group. This job was too risky and dangerous for a goddess, even one as brave as Artemis or Athena, he needed one of the male gods. He instantly dismissed Hermes as he was too predictable a choice… if Thanatos was where he suspected then he needed to play it smart. What he needed was a god with Titan-like qualities, a god who was brutal and swift who would not quit until he had released Thanatos from whatever trouble he had gotten himself into. A wide smile appeared on his lips as the tanned Lord of Olympus' blue eyes landed onto the perfect god for the job..

'Ares, go and liberate Thanatos, I'm sure that once his son is returned to him Hades will see that Sisyphus is punished severely.' The red-skinned God of War smirked widely and lifted his red sword, stroking the blade as his brown eyes narrowed deviously in response to Zeus' orders.

* * *

Two days had passed since Hades had closed the Realms of the Dead off from the Surface Realms and the fiery god was stunned by the huge amount of support he received from his subterranean family. The Goddess of Night and the God of Darkness continued to do their godly duties so they could keep their eyes and ears peeled for any information regarding Zeus and his position. Morpheus was the only god in the Realms of Sleep who was prepared to continue with his duties but this came as no surprise since he was such a big Zeus-supporter.. Hypnos: Keeper of the Realms of Sleep and his other three sons Phantosis, Phobetor and little Ikelos were all in sympathy with the subterranean rulers and refusing to do their godly duties. Hypnos' wife Pasiphae, Goddess of Hallucinations was standing by her husband, as a mother she felt very sorry for both Hades and Persephone and had sent her brother-in-law and his wife a care-package to insure her niece Melinoe was still being looked after. Hades also received a great deal of support from both Echidna and her brood of monsters as well as Lamia and her horde of Miseries. Both demonic women had sent their sympathies to the Underworld Rulers and offered their children's services to aid in finding the missing prince.

Although he was overwhelmed by the compassionate response from his family and underlings Hades politely refused all their offers of searching for Thanatos. The fiery god didn't have to search for his son as he had already knew where he was. Hades had realized that since Sisyphus had never arrived for his stint in Tartarus, the sneaky mortal had to have something to do with Thanatos' disappearance. After quickly deducing this the fiery god then worked out that if indeed this was the case then Thanatos was most likely imprisoned some-how… though he just couldn't figure out how. Hades also reasoned if Zeus wanted the Underworld to resume collecting dead souls and have this 'Sisy-guy' punished then he would have to free Thanatos. Then there was the whole Cosmic Grand Design to think of… with death out of action the balance of life would be completely thrown off the longer this siege went on, as Lord of the Universe Zeus' position would demand him to act soon.

Hades smirked widely to himself as he sprawled out across the vacant throne, putting his feet up on the right-hand armrest.

Perhaps there was some sense in him remaining underneath the surface…

…even if he had only agreed to stay because of Persephone.

The fiery god then mused pensively over his wife and her strange hormonal fits. The young Queen of the Underworld was far from her usual self. When they'd first realized that Thanatos wasn't coming home it had been him that had sunk into a 'downwards manic-depressive rage spiral' it had been Persephone that had jerked him out of his funk. But as the days had slowly rolled by and there was no news of their son her optimism was slowly depleting..

A soft sound roused the blue fiery god from his thoughts and he turned just in time to see his daughter Melinoe glide listlessly into the room, the deep blue smoky tendrils on the hem of her simple navy halter-neck chiton made no noise and her brilliant blue hair swirled forlornly around her face. Her head was bent slightly forward as she drifted over to the huge round window giving no indication on whether or not she even noticed her father slumped in his throne. Once the pale goddess reached the circular window of the throne room she lounged lethargically on it's wide sill, facing out towards the Styx so she could idly watch the few souls left in it drift passed.

Hades kinked a brow at his daughter, she was more dismal these days than normal. Since she was now barred from visiting the surface world at night with her mentor Hecate the gloomy little goddess now spent her time just idly moping around the House of Hades, gazing lifelessly out of the windows. She like her parents missed the flamboyant personality of her older brother and wished that he could just come home already.

'Are you worried about your her too?' The fiery god sounded in a light but concerned tone while gesturing upwards causing Melinoe's green eyes to roll around to her father. She knew that by 'her' he meant her mother.

'A little..' She finally responded in a soft but dull tone, her eyes turning back to follow the Styx.

'Did you see her before you came down?' Was the immediate follow up question as Hades sat up properly and slid across to his wife's side of the throne to be closer to his daughter.

'Sure..' Melinoe replied in the same tone, resisting to roll her eyes wearily at her father's questioning. She just kept her eyes firmly on the Styx and let hiss inquisition carry on.

'How did she seem?' Hades ploughed on and Melinoe could not fail to miss the curiosity that laced this question.. The fiery god had woke up before his wife and since he had no work to worry about he had just laid there, snuggled up to her, stroking her golden hair while she dreamed peacefully… at least he had before cravings for caffeine and something sticky, sweet and bad for his fangs nagged him to get up.

'She seemed…' Melinoe tailed off thoughtfully, putting a navy-painted fingernail to her lips and musing on the best way to describe her mother. '-chipper.'

'Really?' Hades sounded with a slight gasp of breathless pleasure.

'Hmm..' Melinoe gave a nasal noise of confirmation. '-_surprisingly_ chipper.'

Hades stroked his long angular chin thoughtfully as he considered his daughter's words.

'Why don't you go and see her?' The little pale-blue goddess turned around to look at her father who instantly looked sheepish at this suggestion.

'Eh, I dunno if she'd want to see me..' Hades sighed heavily, he and his wife had barely spoken a word to each other over the last couple of days. Every time they spent time together they usually ended up sitting in silence, each lost in their own thoughts and worries over their missing son.

'Oh c'mon dad..' Melinoe scoffed, this time actually allowing herself the pleasure of rolling her eyes. '-we both know you wanna go see her so just go.'

'Oy..' Hades sighed heavily before smirking wryly at his daughter. '-am I that obvious?'

'Uh, only to me 'cause I'm your daughter..' Melinoe flashed her father a slightly smug smirk before it quickly vanished back into her usual apathetic look as she turned back to the Styx once more. Hades let out a slightly amused grunt of amusement before heaving himself out of his throne and descending the few steps.

'Alright, I'm gonna go see her..' The god then wandered over to the window his daughter was slumped in the window. He then bent down and kissed Melinoe on the cheek. The little pale goddess only shook her head with a slight smirk as he father vanished into smoke.

'Heh, you better brace yourself daddy.' She sounded in a sardonic tone before returning to her pessimistic gazing out of the window.

* * *

The fiery god had a feeling that his wife would be in their son's room again and as usual his instincts were right again. As he appeared in the doorway he found Persephone setting a vase of native Underworld flowers on her son's empty bedside table.

'Ya do know he's just gonna kill those the minute he sees them don'tcha Sephy?' The sound of her husband's voice made the white-skinned goddess jump in shock before she whirled around, once she saw that it was just him standing there she smirked in amusement at his words.

'Heh, at least we'll know it's really him then, won't we?' She sounded in a light voice, approaching him slowly. The blue fiery god flashed his wife a wide leer of amusement.

'So whatcha doin' babe?' The fiery god strolled casually into the room and looked around the bedroom that had once belonged to his wife back in their dating days. 'Besides smugglin' flowers in here..' Hades narrowed his brows and wiggled his brow in good-humoured jesting.

'Oh, I just thought I'd tidy up Than's room a little..' The white-skinned goddess then picked up her son's black scythe and lent it beside the bed. '-so it was neat and orderly for his return.' She then turned back to her husband smiling at him.

'Well, I'm sure he'll appreciate the effort.' Hades responded amiably as his eyes drifted over his son's neatly folded navy and skull patterned night-chiton which was sat neatly on the bed being guarded by the ever-present Mr Skelton.

'I just want him to know he never left our thoughts..' She shrugged carelessly, her smile faltered slightly as she sighed gently but it returned as her green eyes turned to her husband once more. The goddess had woken this morning feeling strangely warm and fuzzy, a similar feeling that she had during her pregnancy with Thanatos when she could sense that he was content inside her womb. She didn't know why she was getting these odd feelings but it came with a swooping sensation in her stomach. At first she though she might be pregnant once more but the Queen of the Underworld immediately dismissed this theory. She didn't have the same nausea and cravings for worms that she'd had when she was pregnant with her two children… in fact she'd never felt better, she had so much energy and her aura seemed oddly brighter. She felt so good that she couldn't understand why she'd been moping around mourning her missing son. He wasn't _dying_, he was just stuck somewhere and as soon as he managed to free himself he would come rushing home to them.

'He never did my sweet..' Hades responded to her words, leaning in and kissing her lightly before straightening as his usual wolfish airy smirk returned. '-and I'm glad to see you've perked up. Now whatta ya say to a fresh cuppa nectar babe, I'll even make it?' His voice oozed in a low enticing tone as the god narrowed his eyes at his wife.

'Sounds fabulous..' Persephone replied gladly, linking arms with her husband as another blissful swoop washed over her body. '-and I think I'd like a pomegranate to go with it if we have any lying around..' She added as the two gods left their son's vacant room and headed down the hallway.

'For you babe, we always do..' Hades responded with a low throaty chuckle.

* * *

_..What the Tartarus is taking them so long?.._

Thanatos was still slumped across the bottom of the little closet just off Sisyphus' throne room. He'd never felt so weak and feeble in his entire life. He hadn't touched a drop of nectar or ambrosia in nearly six days… _or could it be eight?_ Thanatos didn't know anymore. He'd been incarcerated for so long that time was completely meaningless now… it was like it had completely stopped inside his tiny prison. His powers had been draining further and further as time dragged on and the little god had lost all of his omniscient senses as well as the ability to stand up. In fact the little godling barely had enough strength to lift his arm anymore, he just lay limply at the bottom of the closet feeling his own body slowly succumbing to his own deathly powers.

Thanatos tried to fight the ever nagging feeling of just closing his eyes and allowing his body to slip into that peaceful coma that was knocking on his conciseness. He vaguely remembered his father Hades telling him once that if a god was ever to fall victim to his own powers then there was almost nothing in the cosmos that could break that spell…

Thanatos' hopes of rescue were dwindling fast.

Did nobody realise he was missing…

…or did they just not care?

The white-skinned godling cursed his uncle Zeus for his imprisonment… _If I ever get outta this Tartarus-hole I'll have my revenge… even if it takes me a few millennia, I'll make him pay for this! _He'd disliked his Olympus dwelling uncle before but now he utterly hated him, the smug self-centred jerk had probably planned all this. A nice slow, agonizing torture as a punishment for setting fire to Rome. His burning hatred for his uncle was enough to stave off the warm sleep-like enticement of his own deathly powers but it was not long before once more, the coma was pushing at his conciseness..

…_No… must fight this…_

Thanatos gave a small whimper, intending to shake off the welcoming feeling of unconcern's but his head merely rolled sluggishly.

…_must stay awake…_

The godling yawned silently, his eyes closing then opening slowly as he tried to fight off the burning desire to just surrender.

…_must… not… fall…_

Thanatos' eyes closed as his head slumped back against the wall of the closet, his hands resting on his abdomen as he fell unconscious.

…_asleep…_

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Heya peeps, first update of the new year! Don't worry P.V.D fans I've written half of the new chapter but have reached an itty bit of writer's block so am taking a small break and working on this fic as the plot is practically screaming to be written. Seriously! My fingers just flew over the keys for this chap!_

_Ok, the chapter title is a reference to the content and not to Pain and Panic's little imp-sister Hope, who will probably come back a little later on as a slightly older imp… you may not have made the connection but I'm just throwing this out so you know the score._

_Ok, another little Herc series reference here, this time from Hercules and the All Nighter episode where Hades comments on Morpheus while he's asleep under his own blanket of sleep, commenting on how he's succumbed to his own powers… it's basically the same principle but since Than is Death and he's immortal I'm giving the impression here that (if he chose too) the son of Hades has the power to knock a god unconscious._

_Again, since time has dragged on since Than's disappearance I tried to show how the family was coping without him. Melinoe reverts further inside herself while her parents drift apart then reconcile… it seemed like a natural reaction for the characters to take._

_I must admit it's a little strange to reach the thirty chap make and only be around the halfway mark of my fic, this story will probably be around sixty chaps by the time it finishes, I hope all you readers are in for the long haul! XP_

_Have no fear… the family will be reconciled soon I promise!_

_~Ditzy X_


	31. Oh Thanny, where Art Thou my Son?

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**BubblyButtons2me: Awww, thank you hun X**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: Hmmm, Persephone rarely plans things but for once, your right, she does have an ulterior motive… see this chap! XP**_

_**DisneyPrincess: Yup, Zeus' ineptness knows no bounds, eh? Plus it just goes to show that Zeus really only cares about those in his little inner-circle, he was forever ignoring or disregarding Hades so I extended this to the fiery god's family too. Again…all will be revealed in time X**_

_**MusicLuver78901: Ha-Ha… don't worry m'dear, I think your gonna love this chapter! XD ..Y'know what's funny is that Zeus really isn't much different in my fics than he is in the series, it's just that since we're looking at it through the Underworld side of things it makes him seem bad… funny that? X**_

* * *

_**Ok, big shout out to the missing members of my Review Crew!-! Hope your all still well and hope to hear from you soon… I love you all… this chaps for you!-! Xxx**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Thirty-One:****Oh Thanny, where Art Thou my Son?**

'Are ya sure ya want me to go?' Hades kinked a brow, slightly concerned by his wife's sudden change of heart concerning their missing son. Persephone bit her bottom lip and tapped the side of her mug of nectar anxiously.

'I'm sure sweetie..' She eventually responded as a solemn look flashed in her bright green eyes. '-it's been nine days since we last saw our son and Zeus clearly doesn't care what happens to Than..' Persephone frowned slightly at this before sighing heavily and continuing, 'We need to start being realistic about this.' Hades raised his other brow, throwing Persephone a bemused yet still slightly concerned look. He had always been a rational thinker, it was something that he had picked up from Erebus, though Zeus tried to claim that it was from Cronos. His quick mind quickly rationalized that Persephone was probably including him in this since he did not counter her wishes for him to stay here with her.

'I mean..' The pale goddess flicked a stray strand of blonde hair out of her face. '-we don't even know when he last had ambrosia or nectar, and we both know that if he succumbs to his own powers then he could be suckered into an eternal sleep that neither you nor I could ever hope to wake him from..'

'Ok, whoa, whoa..' Hades set down his own nectar and waved his hands in a 'slow down' gesture, he did not want her to think negatively. '-let's not go down that route babe, keep it positive, ok?' He didn't want his wife to get suckered back into her recent depressive state once more after just pulling herself out of it.

'Oh, your right..' Persephone flushed slightly, nodding and taking a soothing sip of her nectar. '-I'm sorry.' She paused taking another shaky sip before throwing a set of wide green eyes at her husband, looking almost pleadingly at him. 'I just want him home.' Her voice was soft. It was obviously her last resort to ask him to go and collect their son… but if Olympus was going to sit back and do nothing then what choice did they have?

'And will you be ok by yourself for a little while my sweet?' Hades' tone was soft as he finished his cup of nectar and placed on the arm of his throne then took her free dainty white hand in his.

'I'll be ok..' Persephone exhaled slowly. '-I have Melinoe, Hecate and the minions.'

'Hmmm, alright babe..' Hades sounded unconvinced but chose not to argue with her over it. '-but if you need me just call and I'll come straight back..' He fiery god pushed himself forward and kissed his wife's lips compassionately before heaving himself out of his side of the throne.

'Be careful sweetie..' Persephone said in a soft worried voice but Hades only smirked widely at her concern.

'Hah! Ain't I always..' He replied in a cheerful jest and winking before vanishing out in a puff of smoke.

* * *

'Alright Cerberus, prick up your ears pup I'm only sayin' this one more time..' Hades sounded in a low voice that was slightly irritated yet had the frustrated pitch of someone teetering on the edge of their last scrap of patience. '-_this.._' The fiery god waved Charon's dog-chewed oar at his disobedient three-headed mutt. '-is _not a chew toy!_' As usual Cerberus was not paying the slightest bit of attention to Hades' words, instead his six beady red eyes were focused on the long black stick in his masters hand that was waving around. The next second the left hand head of Cerberus, which was closest to the or snapped out at it causing the oar in Hades' fingers to vanish. The fiery god flared in annoyance at this.

'_Hey! What did I just say!_' Hades snarled irritated. This was never going to work. Since getting the 'go ahead' from his wife to collect their son and bring him home the fiery god had first stopped off in Thanatos' bedroom to fetch one of his son's unwashed chitons so that he could use Cerberus' nose to track down his scent… but as usual, the three-headed mutt just wasn't playing ball.

As Cerberus made a vaguely confused whine Hades slapped his face.

'My patience is wearing thin with you..' The fiery god hissed before he summoned the long black chiton into his hand. Immediately Cerberus snapped it up in two of his jaws. '_Gahhhh! That's it! No more patience!_ Patience has gone bye-_bye_…' Hades managed to wrench Thanatos' chiton out of the three-headed dog's mouths. '-I'm _need _ya to find Than but your just..' Hades broke off as all three heads gave a low sad whine, bowing at the sharp reprimand. It was at this point that the fiery god realised that Thanatos was Cerberus' 'playmate' and best friend under the surface. They were always fooling around in the stygian mud of the Styx.

'You miss Than?' Hades suddenly sounded in an upbeat tone, waving his son's chiton in front of the three-headed mutt who barked as the god carried on cheerfully. 'You want your little buddy back, huh? Then sniff him out..' Cerberus bounced and sniffed the chiton, recognizing this game as he'd played 'hunt the imps' with Thanatos many times. '-come on, you want him, let's go get him… sniff him out… c'mon, you can do it… like this..' Hades was now crawling on all fours excitedly but one sniff of Than's smelly unwashed chiton made Hades want to heave.. '_Whoo-ee! _That's rife… what has the brat been rollin' in?' He then paused blinking before shuddering at the thought. 'Second thoughts… don't wanna know..' He then frowned as Cerberus looked at him in bemusement, clearly not following.

'C'mon, c'mon… get the damn scent already!' Hades flared irritably getting back up from the dirt. 'Ya got a nose the size of a barn, _three in fact! _Three great big wet sloppy noses..' He then gave the three-headed dog an almost pleading look as if imploring him to just pick up Thanatos' scent. Suddenly the right-hand head of Cerberus began sniffing the air as if locking on to a faint scent, with a small yip to it's other two heads they too were all sniffing the air. Then instantly they were pointing in the same direction yipping excitedly.

Hades instantly perked up, realising quickly that they must have the scent.

'Now that's more like it!' The fiery god declared happily as he summoned a huge three-hooked dog-leash out of a curl of smoke. 'You want Thanny…' The fiery god clipped all three collars of his huge mutt to the leash then wound the strap tightly around his arm. '-then go get him!' The next second the enormous three-headed mutt took off and their was a two-second delay before Hades found himself being dragged behind them..

* * *

On the surface Ares had had a similar idea to his uncle as he was out searching for Thanatos with his two dogs of war Brutus and Spartacus, the only difference was that instead of sniffing out the golden-flamed son of Hades the two dogs were following the scent of a gutless betrayer. Ares didn't know for sure that Sisyphus was the reason behind Thanatos' disappearance but tracking down the mush-headed mortal was a good start… at least this way he could torture Thanatos' whereabouts out of him.

As the red-skinned God of War approached Corinth his two red-skinned Dobermans began growling and snarling aggressively.

'Oh your kidding me..' Ares cackled in amusement. '-he's still _here!_' This mortal was dumber than his fellow deities made him out to be. What kind of idiot would still be hanging out in his home town when they knew Zeus was vying for their soul in Tartarus? 'Alright boys, let's sniff this weasel out!' He declared with a low cruel tone and his two dogs barked in response and began sniffing the ground, hauling their master towards the palace of Corinth…

Inside the palace Sisyphus was pacing his throne room restlessly. He glanced over at the window and noticed that the sun was setting in the west. It had officially been nine days since he'd forced the juvenile god into the small closet by the enterance to his throne room… nine days he'd been in hiding just waiting for the inevitable day that Zeus would send Hermes to come and collect him and try to drag him off to Tartarus. The Messenger God of course wouldn't be able to take him of course, not without the God of Death to sever his soul from his body.

He'd been waiting for nine days for the inevitable retribution to come… but it had not. Perhaps Zeus was just waiting for him to drop his guard. Sisyphus had not been on any guard, he knew it would be useless to hide from Zeus so he had just sat here, waiting. However the wily king was growing weary of waiting for Zeus to deliver his punishment. Sisyphus couldn't even goad the godling in the closet anymore because the child-deity was giving him the silent treatment. No matter what words he used to try and provoke a reaction out of him the little godling had not uttered a single response. Sisyphus supposed that this was the kid's way of trying to psych him out as his very last words to the King of Corinth had been: _'Death always finds a way..'_.

All of a sudden the throne room was bathed in a glowing red light before the King of Corinth found himself face-to-face with two very large snarling red-skinned dogs. They were both foaming at the mouth and barking so loudly that the walls of the throne room seemed to shake with the noise. Whimpering he shrunk out of their reach only then just realising that they were being restrained by a tall red-skinned deity dressed in deep red battle armour. From his big chest to his beard and bulbous nose Sisyphus could not fail to recognise this god, he'd seen his statues and impressive temple in neighbouring Sparta before. It was Ares, God of War… and the god's blazing brown eyes were glaring hard at the mortal king before him.

'Brutus..' The god roared over the racket his dogs were making, yanking on the one linked to his right hand and the large red Doberman fell silent. '-Spartacus..' The dog on the left fell silent as it's master yanked on his leash, both dogs however kept their eyes fixed on the King of Corinth and were prepared to lunge if he made any attempt to run.

Without taking his eyes off of Sisyphus Ares removed his dogs leads and his loyal canines appeared to take no notice of their release… all their focus was on the king. When he moved a miniscule amount away from them and both Brutus and Spartacus bared their sharp teeth and gave a low throaty growl. Sisyphus instantly stood rigid, he wasn't moving anywhere.

Ares unsheathed his sword and moved in front of his two hounds of war and pointed the sharp red blade to Sisyphus' throat and glared shrewdly at the now shaking mortal.

'Where… is… he?' Ares sounded slowly and carefully despite his low aggressive tone and gritted teeth.

'Wh-where is who?' Sisyphus responded with a slight stutter but Ares glared impossibly harder, his aura flaring as his two hounds growled more aggressively.

'_Don't give me that!_' The God of War roared, his impatient nature seeping through. 'You _know_ who I'm talking about… _now where is he!-?_' Only a fool baited Ares, the god was well known for his short temper and savage bloodlust. Sisyphus shivered slightly knowing that he was screwed but he could only open his mouth… about to cave and tell Ares where Thanatos was hidden, thought the child-deity had been strangely silent all this time, when his palace began quacking violently. It wasn't only Sisyphus who was looking around stunned by this, Ares too was looking surprised proving he was not behind the sudden tremors and screams of shock and fear coming from servants outside. Then before either of them could do anything the double doors to the throne room burst open to reveal another large snarling, drooling dog. This one was even bigger than the two that were already in the room… and this one had _three heads!_ Sisyphus knew who this dog belonged to even before it's owner appeared in the doorway, standing there with his dark robes and blue flaming hair blazing.

He was royally screwed now.

'_Hades!_' Ares sounded in amazement as his eyes rested on his uncle who's golden eyes narrowed as a smirked played about his lips. 'What are you doing here?'

'Ares..' The fiery god sounded airily, '-whatta pleasant surprise! I'm just here to collect what's mine… you?' Hades spoke conversationally as Cerberus began whimpering and sniffing the closet door keenly, he then began scratching it obsessively.

'I'm just here to make sure _this jerk _gets what's comin' to him..' Ares snarled as his eyes turned to Sisyphus with malevolent delight and seizing him by the front of his chiton.

'He will, he will..' Hades continued on with his bright and breezy tone waving a hand dismissively as he pushed Cerberus out of the way. The big three-headed mutt was eyeing the door to the closet and whining pitifully, not that his master took any notice as he carried on. '-as soon as I get Thanatos back I'll-' The rest of Hades words quickly died after he had unlocked the closet door and pulled it open.

The fiery god instantly gasped as his gold eyes fell onto the unconscious form of his eldest child slumped at the bottom of the closet. He then bent forward and unlocked the manacles that had been holding Thanatos in his 'prison'.

'What? What'd ya find?' Ares sounded curiously twisting to his uncle, concerned by his sudden intake of air. His grip remained tight on Sisyphus' chiton. Cerberus too had lowered his middle head so his red eyes could look in the closet and the second he saw his unconscious master the huge three-headed rottweiler pup growled and glared at Sisyphus, his growling caused both Brutus and Spartacus to growl too as if they understood why Cerberus was furious.

'I found my son..' Hades responded, his tone was dark and icy as the god pulled himself slowly out of the closet before exploding into a red fiery rage of fury. '_-unconscious!-!_' Despite being in the grip of Ares, Sisyphus gulped nervously as Hades marched towards him in a red-skinned, golden-flamed tower of ferocity… He truly was an unholy sight to behold.

Without having to be told Ares let go of the mortal and backed away slowly which went unnoticed by Hades who's eyes were solely focused on the pathetic mortal in front of him. The fiery god then seized Sisyphus by the neck of his robes, his hand was hot enough where Sisyphus could feel the heat radiating off of the god but not hot enough to burn his clothing, and pulled the mortal very close to his burning face. Though Hades was beside himself with rage the fiery god managed to keep himself in check, he wasn't in any hurry to cause this mortal anguish… he had all of eternity for that, right now all he needed was to scare him witless.

'_You sir, _are in a lotta trouble… _ya know that!-!_' Hades snarled and only the flames on his head rose a foot in the air as he bellowed the second part. The god then pulled out a scroll from a puff of smoke with his free hand, it must have been flame-retardant because it did not crumple under the heat of his fingers. Hades then began to read off of the scroll fiercely.

'One count of deception towards an immortal deity… two counts of evading an immortal deity… one count of _kidnapping_ an immortal deity… and one count of attempted _godly homicide_..' The scroll vanished and Hades threw a hard look at Sisyphus through his pitiless black pupils. '_How_, do you plead?' The fiery god sounded in a cool yet surprisingly official business-like tone as a sombre look crossed his face… he already suspected how Sisyphus would plead but it was all part of his Underworld duty to be fair and offer them a chance.

'Whadda ya mean how does he plead?' Ares spoke up, looking both bemused and annoyed that Hades was even asking him this question… it was obvious he was guilty. But Hades lifted a hand to silence Ares before the god could say any more.

Sisyphus stuttered for a moment before he finally spoke.

'Not guilty..' The second the words came out of his mouth a horrible smirk twisted across Hades' lips.

'Just as I suspected…' The fiery god responded in a cold tone. '_-Tartarus._' Hades then swivelled his head around to Ares who instantly smirked at his uncle. 'Ares, grab ma boy, we're gonna takin' this schmeil _downstairs.._'

'Aye, aye sir..' Ares saluted before striding over to the closet and scooping up the unconscious form of Thanatos, the little godling's bald white head lolled in his arms.

'B-but.. Your Lord of the Dead… don't I have to be killed by a God of Death?' Sisyphus sounded nervously as Hades summoned his son's scythe from the Underworld.

'Hey..' Hades sounded cheerfully as Sisyphus' body suddenly fell to the floor leaving his spirit still trapped in the fiery god's tight grip. '-before Than came along I used to be judge, jury and executioner all rolled into one..' He then smirked as with one clean sweep Sisyphus' soul was separated from his body. '-so don't think your gonna get out of this so easy, _bub_.' Hades finished with an evil leer as he returned to blue. The fiery god then pulled away from the now-dead soul of Sisyphus and walk over to Cerberus, picking up his discarded leash. At the same moment Ares had snapped his fingers sending his two war hounds back home to his temple in Sparta.

'How did you know that creepo was gonna claim to be innocent?' The red-skinned god asked in a low impressed voice.

'Meh, all Tartarus-bound souls think they're innocent, no matter how much evidence is stacked against 'em..' Hades shrugged. 'Whadda ya say to a couple of ambrewskis while I figure out what kinda sentence to give this yutz..' The fiery god grinned widely at Ares, he didn't often offer hospitality to Olympian gods but the God of War had always been his favourite nephew. Not only because his constant wars kept him in business but because the hot-headed deity was so easy to dupe into his way of thinking, plus Ares was the only one on the cloud that actually liked him.

'Sounds like a plan.' The red-skinned deity replied keenly at this, the two of them then vanished out in a puff of black smoke and a shimmer of red respectively.

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey peepz! I've been looking forward to writing these next few chapters for so long as I've had them planned out since the beginning of this fic, I might even shoot them out a little quicker… here's hoping anyway! XD_

_Ok, I must admit I love Hades in this chapter… I feel he's been growing a little flat recently so I'm going back and doing some more character study to try and bounce him back… plus I need to bone up on some particular Hades-behaviour patterns for the next chapter. It's crucial I nail Hades on it or the story is going to fall apart!_

_Have I sparked your interest?_

_Stay tuned…_

_~Ditzy x_


	32. Bring me Back to Life,,

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**BubblyButtons2me: Thanks! Keep reading hun, it get's better I promise! X**_

_**Black Diamond07: Welcoe back hun! I hope the studying is going well and no worries! Oohh, Sisyputz has been a really bad boy hasn't he, unfortunately he's getting worse! :( X**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I'm so blonde sometimes, forgive me... I love protective Hades but I also love mothering Persephone and this chapter is filled with it! X**_

_**DisneyPrincess (150th reviewer): Umm, you might have to wait one more chap for that hun, it seems Sisyphus is still misbehaving... but at least one of the questions you asked is answerd in this chap! XD**_

_**MusicLuver78901: I love Hade and Ares, they make a great team don't they? And yup, Than is safe and sound! Hmmm, embarrass Zeus, embarrass Zeus... uh, nope I got nah-dah right now but I'll concider it... my, my we are lovin' some Zeus bashin' right now? LoL maybe you and Thanatos should plot evil together! XP **_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Thirty-Two:****Bring me Back to Life..**

It was the middle of the night in the shadowy town of Corinth as a single horse and cart slowly clopped it's way downtown towards the Spring of Sisyphus. The cart's driver was a pale young woman who's hands quivered nervously on the reigns.

Merope really didn't want to do this… but her husband had forced her to Swear by the Styx that she would, what chose did she have?

Upon reaching the spring the young girl in her twenties hopped down off of her perch at the front of the cart and padded softly around the back to where the lifeless corpse of her husband was lying wrapped up in a dark sheet made from dyed lamb's wool. It took Merope a couple of tugs to get the lifeless body of Sisyphus off of the cart and it landed on the dusty ground with an unceremonious _thump_. For a moment she gazed at the dead body as a lump rose in her throat, this was her husband she was discarding… her _dead husband's body_. Merope then wiped her tears and hardened her resolve, she couldn't break a promise to her husband. If she did she would have both Styx and the Furies hounding her for the rest of her life… but this was so wrong! For a king's body to just be discarded like this and not receive it's proper burial rights? It wasn't right…

As Merope dragged the body over to the spring and dumped it behind it, concealing it from view of any passers by, she looked up to the stars… the only witness' to her unspeakable act of blasphemy. _Gods forgive me… _She silently prayed, holding her head in shame before turning and abandoning the corpse where it lay before getting back on her cart and heading home.

* * *

While Ares and Hades sucked on cigars and chinked a couple of glasses of malted ambrosia, toasting a job well done and the safe return of Thanatos, both Hecate and Persephone took the unconscious and sickly looking God of Death to his bedroom. Once his mother had changed the limp godling into his night chiton and placed him in bed Hecate checked him over by channelling her silvery aura through on hand and waving it over him, as if scanning the godling.

'What's your diagnosis?' Persephone murmured softly, her eyes wide with worry. Her son looked so peaceful all tucked up in his bed with his skeletal teddy in bedside him.

'He's very weak but we _can_ revive him..' The violet-skinned witch responded, pursing her lips and concentrating her silvery aura on the unconscious Thanatos. '-if he hadn't come home tonight, you may have lost him forever.' The witch then straightened and lowered her hand as her aura shrank back to normal.

Persephone instantly flung her arms around Hecate as her eyes brimmed with tears of happiness at her words. The witch's bluish-silver eyes widened in shock at this gesture which went completely unnoticed by the Queen of the Underworld who was sobbing with relief.

'Oh thank the Fates..' Persephone trembled as she clung to Hecate. '-I don't know what I'd do if we lost him..' The Goddess of Witchcraft pulled the younger goddess off of her and held her by the wrists at arms length. Persephone merely pouted at her while her mascara-streaked eyes blinked in confusion.

'Oh for the love of Ais, pull yourself together Persephone..' She drawled in distain. '-we haven't lost him and I swear by the Styx I won't let that happen..' The witch let go of her hands and the Queen of the Underworld smiled thankfully at her words. 'But to bring him back I'm going to need your help my queen..'

'Anything..' Persephone responded quickly. '-I'll do whatever it takes to help my baby-flames.'

'Alright..' Hecate smiled widely, suddenly pulling a bag of golden liquid out of a puff of purple smoke. '-_first_, we need to get nectar straight into his inchor-stream..' The witch then hung the bag of nectar up like a drip-bag above the godling's bed before summoning a long thin tube and a needle. Fixing the tubing to the nectar drip-bag the Goddess of Witchcraft then tested the needle to make sure her make-shift IV drip was working before injecting it into Thanatos' forearm and binding it in place with cotton wading. Persephone only put a finger to her lip and watched with quiet awe as Hecate did all this..

'Now if you'll just come here my dear..' Hecate then took Persephone by the shoulders and manpowered her into position so the white-skinned goddess was now standing level with her son's chest. '-and place your hands over his chest like so.' She bent over slightly then reached out and crossed her palms, Persephone copied her so now her hands were over her son's chest cavity. 'Alright, I want you to give him five short compressions while channelling your powers of life into his body.'

'You want me to what?' Persephone sounded confused causing Hecate to roll her eyes with an ounce of irritation, sometimes she wondered if Hades sometimes found his wife's youth and inexperience to be a hindrance.

'Urh, just channel your powers and I'll do the compressions.' The witch scooted closer to the Queen of the Underworld and placed her lilac hands over Persephone's dainty white ones.

'Ready?' Hecate kinked a brow.

'As I'll ever be.' Persephone responded gently.

'Ok Persephone, stay with me. _Channel_…' The witch began pushing down onto Persephone's hands in short but sharp movements as the Goddess of Life's glowing hands pumped her son's lifeless body. '-one… two… three… four… _five_…' Hecate paused for a few seconds as Persephone broke the flow of life. Both goddess' glanced at Thanatos but there seemed to be no improvement.

'_Again_..' Hecate ordered and Persephone complied as the witch counted her compressions again. '-one… two… three… four… _five_…'

Again Thanatos failed to responded to these ministrations.

'C'mon Than _breathe.._' Hecate growled, pushing a stray lock of her dark blue hair off her face and the two goddesses tried again to jolt some life into him. '-one… two… three… four… _five!_' Then instantly Thanatos' unconscious form took a long, deep shuddering breath, filling up the young deity's lungs with air before the cataleptic god settled into a steady breathing pattern. A wide smile then spread itself over Hecate's deep violet lips.

Persephone brought her hands to her face and made a joyful squeak of delight.

'Oh. He's alive, he's alive!' She allowed herself a short giggle before wiping the tears away. 'Thank you so much Hecate..'

'Don't thank me my dear, you're the one who gave him life.' Hecate sounded smirking slightly in amusement.

'But I couldn't have done it without you..' Persephone flushed slightly.

'Well I guess _that_ part's true..' Hecate replied with an edge of jesting which was ignored entirely by the gleeful Goddess of Life. The witch then studied the godling in his bed before adding to Persephone. 'Now he just needs to rest while the nectar seeps into his system..' The white-skinned goddess then summoned herself a plain black stone seat out of a swirl of orbs and perched herself at her son's bedside, planning to keep a visual over Thanatos as he slept.

* * *

…_He was surrounded in darkness… his limps felt heavy, like dead weights.. he tried to move one but it just wouldn't move.. Thanatos was confused.. where exactly was he? This strange dark place was definitely not the closet in Sisyphus' palace.. It was at this point the godling realised that he still had his eyes closed.. he tried to open them but couldn't.. his head felt heavy too… like he was in a sleep-like state.. But this wasn't sleep.. if it was, then Phantosis had not put any imagination into this dream.. and yet, it didn't feel like a dream.. it felt strangely real.._

…_He became aware of the fact that he was breathing.. long, slow deliberate breathes of air swooped in and out of his mouth.. perhaps he could sense where he was by focusing on senses other than sight.. The godling focused on what he was touching.. it felt warm and soft.. he was resting in a bed.. He could feel a hand resting on his right fingers. It was soft and warm… he could feel a warm and soothing life-force emanating off of it… he smiled to himself, recognising the presence of pure life.._

The upper lip of the unconscious godling twitched before slowly, a smile curved his mouth.

…_A whole bouquet of smells hit Thanatos' nostrils at once… roses… asphodels… cinnamon and pomegranate… there was only one being in the entire cosmos that smelt like all those things… the scent of his mother's home-made perfume made the godling more determined than ever to wake up from this illusion… he needed to wake up… he had to wake up.._

Persephone, who had her head bowed over as one hand rested on her son's fingers gently, holding onto a connection with her eldest child. Hecate had long since left the little bedroom, she had gone to update Hades on his son's condition and also find out what punishment the fiery god was planning to bestow on the one responsible for Thanatos' imprisonment. A movement from under her hand made the goddess jerk her blonde head upwards.. his fingers had moved! Gasping slightly Persephone clutched her son's hand firmly then felt his white fingers squeeze her comfortingly. Her wide green eyes blinked hopefully before turning to his face and seeing the smile twitch on his face..

Slowly his eyelids moved, like an insect testing its wings for the first time, and gently the little godlings round golden eyes were revealed to the white-skinned goddess. Thanatos blinked a couple of times hazily as his eyes tried to focus on Persephone who was now leaning closer to him.

'Muh..mom..?' Thanatos mumbled vaguely as his blurry mother slowly came into focus.

'Shhh… shh.' Persephone shushed him gently, then pushed her son back down lightly as he tried to sit up. Her white fingers stroked his cheek soothingly as she smiled sweetly at him, gazing through narrowed green eyes of love.

Thanatos blinked at his mother confused before speaking again, determined for answers.

'What happened..' His voice was soft but slightly concerned. '-Huh-how did I get outta Sisyphus' closet?' His golden eyes wide with misunderstanding, he wasn't even sure how long he had been out.

'_Shh_.. it's ok, it's alright sweet-flames..' Persephone soothed him again, lifting a cool damp cloth and dabbing her son's forehead before continuing, '-Ares and your father rescued you earlier tonight, you were in there nine days and Hecate estimated that you must have been unconscious for at least three of them..'

'_Nine days?_' Thanatos squeaked in shock. '_But the Underworld-!_'

'Has been on strike since we discovered you were missing..' Persephone continued as she dumped the cloth back into the bowl of water and smiled at her son.

'The Underworld's on strike?' Thanatos kinked a brow.

'Yes..' Persephone continued to smile widely. '-and now that your safely at home Sisyphus' punishment which will signal the end of our strike.'

'So has he been punished?' Thanatos asked unsurely as his mother lifted a glass of nectar with a straw in it and holding it out to her son.

'Not yet, your father is deliberating over it now..' Persephone sighed heavily as her son drunk his fill then the empty glass vanished in a swirl of white orbs. She then gently rubbed her flat tummy as that strange warm fuzzy feeling began tingling inside her again. Though she tried to do this discreetly her movement was not missed by Thanatos.

'There's nothing wrong with you y'know..' The whit-skinned godling sounded in a sleepy voice, he still felt very weak from his ordeal.

'Huh?' Persephone blinked confused at her son's words. What did he know of these strange feelings she'd been having lately.

'You should consider those fuzzy warm feelin's a good thing..' The fiery god then snuggled down in his bed preparing to rest for a little while longer. '-especially since you ain't sufferin' from mornin' sickness like you were with me an' ma sis..' The god's voice tailed off into an indistinguishable moan of comfort as he nestled into his pillow. Persephone stared at her now snoozing son for a few seconds in shock… then her hand slowly but absent-mindedly raised itself to her tummy once more and laid itself on what would soon blossom into a baby bump.

'Are you saying I'm _pregnant..?_' The white-skinned goddess sounded still slightly dazed by her son's words.

'_Mmm.._ night mom..' Thanatos mumbled in a vaguely coherent voice as he rolled over to face the wall that his bed was pressed against, an arm subconsciously hooking around Mr Skelton and pulling him into an embrace.

Persephone blinked at her son before a small but angelic smile twisted itself across her cherry lips.

'Nuh-night baby-flames..' She then got up from her seat and swept forward, kissing his cheek before tottering out of the door, still dazed about this unexpected news but happy all the same..

* * *

The Underworld was completely silent, there was nothing moving apart from the ever-flowing rush of the river Styx and the souls it carried… there was nothing moving, except a shift figure which was sticking to the deepest shadows of the dark rocky cliff-bases, hiding behind stalagmites as it sneaked across the ground.

Sisyphus had been surprised at how easy it had been to sneak out of the holding cells. Hades' two imp minions who called themselves 'Pain' and 'Panic' had dumped him in his cell but a few minutes of picking the lock with a discarded rusty nail and it clicked open and he was out! The sneaky soul had skittered silently in the shadows of the silent Underworld until he glided, completely unnoticed across the short stretch of Styx to the island in the centre where the House of Hades stood. Now the soul of Sisyphus was hovering deep in the shadows by the docks, concealed from view by several jagged rocks. The soul couldn't see them but he could hear Hades and Hecate talking somewhere on the back-path above him.

'Your son is stabilizing Hades..' Hecate's voice sounded in a soft yet formal tone. '-he should start to come around soon.'

There was a short pause before a heaving male sigh issued from the fiery god who sounded very close to where Sisyphus was hiding.

'Well that's a relief..' Hades actually sounded thankful for the update.

'Have you decided how your going to punish that mortal yet?' Hecate's voice was slightly laced with curiosity and her words made Sisyphus freeze to attention.

'_Eh_… I'm workin' on some ideas.' Hades' voice replied with an upward inflection which clearly sounded like 'now don't be nosy'.

There was an uncomfortable pause as both gods waited for the other to speak.

'So…' Hades' voice eventually broke the silence that was beginning to spiral horribly. '-how is servitude holdin' up for ya?' This was clearly just small talk for the sake of small talk.

'It's not _actually_ as bad as I thought it was going to be..' Hecate admitted, her voice sounded quite reassured by this.

'Y'know, my wife really values your input..' Hades' voice spoke in a gentle timbre and it caused Sisyphus to frown bemused by it… _when in Tartarus did Hades start dishing out remarks like that? _

'Oh.' Hecate's tone was surprised by his words, clearly she hadn't expected such words from him either. 'Thank you.' There was another slight pause after this and it was clear to Sisyphus through them that these two deities rarely interacted with each other.

'Ya did good today 'Cate..' The soul could practically hear the smile spread across Hades' face. '-Sephy's lucky to have ya..'

'Luck had nothing to do with it and you know it..' Hecate responded but her voice wasn't bitter, if anything there was slight amusement in it. '-I wouldn't be serving her if you hadn't forced me into it.' Hades let out a low throaty chuckle at this point.

'Heh-heh, _yehhh_, I guess havin' you round does have it's unexpected benefits..' Hades' voice sounded with casual agreement.

'I don't understand something though..' Hecate's voice then turned serious.

'Hit me with it..' Sisyphus could imagine Hades' brow kinking with intrigue these words.

'Why _did_ you force me into servitude?' The Goddess of Witchcraft asked. 'You could have just as easily sent me down to Tartarus for my betrayal..'

'Coulda… but _didn't_.' Hades responded in a light friendly tone, 'Call me completely mushuga but I believe that deities and mortals ain't that much different from one another, if a mortal can change when given the chance then why can't a deity?'

'Zeus would have just thrown me in Tartarus without so much as a second thought.' Hecate replied amiably and Sisyphus could just picture her smirk of amusement.

'Yeh, well, lucky for you then I'm not Zeus..' Hades responded and Sisyphus could hear the two deities beginning to move towards the docks.

'Hmmm, your not the same stubborn flame-haired brute I used to know..' Hecate sounded with a small jibe of jesting in her voice which caused Hades to chuckle.

'Yeh, and your not the same annoying pain-in-my-flames witch I used to know either babe..' The fiery god replied lightly.

'Y'know I've been meaning to talk to you about Melinoe..' Hecate's voice began to fade as the gods got further away.

'Heh, walk 'n' talk with me 'Cate, I got places to be..' The fiery god's voice was the last thing Sisyphus heard.

The soul then poked his head up to make sure the coast was clear before swooping up the path to the black skull-shaped fortress home of Hades and Persephone.

* * *

Persephone was lounging in the large two-seater throne. She was the only one left sitting in the throne room as her daughter Melinoe had just left for bed. The white-skinned goddess was sucking on pomegranate slices daintily while her long white legs lounged languidly across her husband's section of the throne.

_A baby…_

The white-skinned goddess' wide green eyes were narrowed with contented reflection as she mulled over their new situation. They had certainly never spoken about having a third baby. Hades seemed to be satisfied with the two children they had, how would he react to a third? Persephone couldn't imagine him being too exasperated by another child. After all, it took two beings to make a baby and he had completely instigated all of their 'recent activities'. Her smile widened subconsciously as a few choice sugared memories flashed through her mind. Persephone then blinked as she then wondered how her son could possibly have known before she did that she was pregnant… but of course, he was omniscient. Her white-skinned baby could probably sense his younger sibling. The white-skinned goddess then began to wonder if her son might know if it she were going to have a boy or a girl… it had been fun guessing the sex of the baby the first couple of times but it would be so handy to know this time around.

…_Hades would probably consider it cheating fate…_

The goddess frowned at this thought before a devious smirk twisted her face… she had _ways_ of making him come around.

Persephone was so lost in her thoughts concerning her new baby that she didn't even notice the soul slip into the throne room. In fact she didn't even notice it until it bowed politely before her.

'_Oh_.' The goddess squealed out in shock, knocking her plate of fruit so it splattered all over the steps and floor at her feet.

'Forgive me my queen..' The soul of Sisyphus sounded politely. '-I didn't mean to startle you.'

'No, no… it's alright, I should've been paying attention..' Persephone uttered feeling flustered by completely making a fool of herself in front of a subject. The goddess then waved a dainty hand and the mess on the floor cleaned itself and vanished into orbs.

'Ok..' The goddess then straightened, swinging her feet in front of her and smiling at the soul. '-what can I do for you?' Sisyphus inwardly smiled but kept his face humble, clearly the Queen of the Underworld had no clue who he was or she would not be so quick to ask him this. The soul wondered just how much Hades actually told his wife…

'Well, my queen, I do not wish to trouble you with this but I am 'recently deceased'..' Sisyphus did not bother enlightening her that by this he meant just arrived only a few hours ago. '-my family did not even bother to give me proper burial rites, so by rights I shouldn't even be here..'

'Oh that's so sad..' Persephone sounded in a soft tone as feelings of sadness stirred up inside her. '-but there's nothing I can do.. besides, every soul is entitled to an afterlife whether or not they've had burial rites.' The goddess added the second part primly, as if reprimanding the soul for trying to say he didn't belong here.

'Others in my position always end up in the Asphodel Fields..' He sounded in a pleading voice, pretending that a just afterlife was what he cared about.

'Better that than Tartarus.' Persephone snorted matter-of-factly, resting her head in her hand as her eyes narrowed in disdain at the soul.

'Maybe so but what if I don't truly _belong_ there..' Sisyphus continued in a beseeching voice.

'_Urh_…' Persephone sighed irritably, straightening her head and frowning at the soul before her. '-so what do you _suggest_ I do, huh?'

'Just let me go back to the surface..' The soul of Sisyphus prostrated himself on the ground before Persephone. '-let me go and haunt my family for a few days, then when they bury me properly I'll return.'

'Um, I dunno..' Persephone fidgeted nervously. '-that sounds like a request that should be made to my husband.' She really did not like giving souls access to the surface without talking it through with Hades first.

'My Lord is busy with other things my lady, surely as queen you could grant me this small favour just once..' Sisyphus pleaded, clasping his hands together while still on his knees in the throne room.

'_Well_..' Persephone drawled unsurely.

'I would be eternally in your debt.' Sisyphus sounded, giving her the last shunt she needed.

'Oh. Alright..' the Queen of the Underworld sighed heavily, she really was a soft-touch. '-but you have to swear by the Styx your coming _straight_ back..' Persephone added sternly, the last thing she needed was a bad-tempered husband.

'I swear by the Styx my queen.' Sisyphus sounded solemnly while privately thinking that that was not going to happen any time soon.

'Ok, good, we're done..' Persephone smiled before flicking a wrist casually at the soul. 'Buh-bye.' She added as the soul was surrounded in orbs and swept up the circular hole in the ceiling. The goddess then slouched back across the huge two-seater throne and summoned herself another sliced pomegranate..

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey Peepz, I told you the next update would be quick… though not even I was expecting it this quickly! Ok, the chapter title is (of course) the line and song title of an Evanescence track, which does sort of fit in with this chap… weirdly enough. Probably should have mentioned this before but Melinoe has now been added to the list of profiles on my page, it does contain a few spoilers as well as her middle name, for those who want to know it. As always I list these characters to be used as a reference for anybody who wishes to use them in their own fics though permission should still be sought (you won't be refused but let's be polite,' kay).._

_Question: does anybody want me to include the rest of the villainous children from PVD to this list?_

_And OMG, it seems Hades is starting to warm to Hecate! I must admit this is kind of a natural move, it would be kind of stupid to have them in constant hatred of each other for eternity (especially since the witch has been nothing but loyal since her enslavement). Of course it is slow moving and since the god is much more guarded than his wife it will take a LONG time before he trusts her on the same level as his wife so don't worry… he hasn't lost all his distrust of her just yet!_

_Ok, first off I wanted a kind of doctors scene with Hecate and Persephone… I dunno why I just felt like having a totally ER moment for when they brought Than home and the whole thing with him telling his mom (what you guys have been guessing, pat yourselves on the back if you got it right) that Persephone was pregnant was the sweet moment to ice the cake._

_Alright Sisyphus myth buffs you all knew this was coming, the infamous moment when Sisyphus duped Persephone into freeing him. I've known this was coming for a long time and this was the other reason I chose not to let Persephone have anything to do with Tartarus (the first of course being she's a soft touch and another reason which will be in the next chapter). Uh-oh… how is Hades gonna react to this?-!_

_Only one way to find out…_

_Stay tuned!_

_Ditzy X_


	33. The REAL Rolling Stone

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**BubblyButtons2me: Yay, she speaks! (Lol, something other than great chap!) Yeh, Hecate and Hades have gone from worst enemies to Lord and servant. The relationship was ,in the beginning, very forced with a lot of snide back and forth comments but I am slowly trying to forge some-kind of relationship between them X**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: Ok hun, working on their profiles at the min but it's slow going due to other things right now, should be posted soon though. As for the breaking of the Styx oath all I can find out is that if a god breaks an oath they are not allowed food and drink of the gods and are banished from Olympus for a year. The only thing I can find out about mortals breaking oaths is that they die… yeh, pretty grim results huh? And yup, Hades has something big planned for Sisyphus! X**_

_**DisneyPrincess: Sephy actually didn't know it was him, that's why she was so nice to him… I think she would probably have screamed for her husband if she had known it was him. Well, Eris is already part of the story, Savannah doesn't fit into the time-line and even though Alcezar is Hecate's son in my other fics I think it would be too complicated to try and twist him in, though I might make a side mention like I did with Jafar in my first fic P.o.P at some point X**_

_**Black Diamond07: Uh, yep Sephy is a bit of a ditz at times (but so am I) and I'm sure she won't be offended by your 'blonde' comments… don't worry, will be doing more time jumping over the next few chaps so the next baby should arrive quickly, I need to push on with this story as I still have so much to cover X**_

_**Wolvie'sBiggestFan: Nice to see your still with us hun, and yup I'm working on those profiles for you… have no fear, next update is here! X**_

_**MusicLuver78901: Ooh, can't wait to see what dastardly scheme you come up with! I know exactly what your saying, I watched the series when it first came on Saturday morning T.V. in the U.K. (I was twelve) and I was hooked from the first episode… I loved Hades and his minions but was never too keen on Zeus, then after doing my Greek myth homework I found out what Zeus was really like and I hated him even more. The characters in these fics I'm writing now are actually based on original characters that I made up at the time of the series… I just reworked the Underworld family a bit X**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Thirty-Three:****The REAL Rolling Stone..**

'_Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh….!-!_'

The entire Underworld rumbled and shook like Nysa would when Mount Etna exploded and judging by the fiery God of the Dead's yell of fury, explode was _exactly_ what he just had done.. Persephone, who had been snoozing on their large two-seater waiting for her husband to return, bolted upright as the throne room juddered to his faint cry of fury, her green eyes widening with alarm and anxiety. Pain and Panic glanced nervously to each other over the top of the magazine they'd been reading quietly together in the corner of the throne room. They were unsure what the problem was but they knew who he'd blame for it.

Sure enough, the next second a towering inferno of flames manifested into the throne room causing both Persephone and the imps to jump in fright as Hades, full golden-flames blazing and red-skinned, burst into the room. His nostrils were flaring with smoke as he snorted furiously, like he was trying to keep his temper in check and failing miserably.

'_He's gone.._' Hades declared furiously, his golden flames rippling heatedly as he spoke.

'Who?' Pain sounded before he quickly realised who his boss was on about. 'Sisyphus…?'

'But we locked him up in the holding cells just like you said we should..' Panic added in a panicked voice.

'Well, _somehow_… _he got out!-!_' The fiery god snarled aggressively swivelling around irately on one hip and stalking across the floor to the middle of the throne room. 'So now this _bozo-_' Hades' golden flames billowed with vexation at this, growing with his next words. '-is just waltzing around _in the Underworld!-!_' The fiery god bawled the last words sending two huge torrents of flames swooping around the throne room. Persephone ducked down, laying across the seats of the throne to avoid the blast while Pain and Panic were blasted into two piles of ash.

* * *

'What in blue blazes is goin' on down there..' Thanatos yawned grumpily poking his head out of his bedroom door to see Melinoe, dressed in her modest long black night-chiton with lacy straps, kneeling at the top of the staircase listening to her father's yelling, his words were indistinct so it was unclear what he was yelling about but the little goddess' green eyes were wide with anxiety.

'Dad's really fuming about something..' The pale blue goddess turned to see her flameless brother in his skull patterned night-chiton.

'Meh, what else is new sis..' Thanatos responded yawning heavily.

'Shouldn't you still be in bed resting?' Melinoe frowned, irritated by her brother's lack of interest and turning her head back to look down the stairwell that lead to the hallway just off the throne room.

'Well I can't _sleep_ 'cause _some_-_god_ is disturbin' the peace..' Thanatos snorted, his cranium only sparking with annoyance at his words since he had not rested enough to sustain a flame. The flameless godling then retracted his head and slammed his bedroom door shut.

Melinoe winced at the loud bang but she doubted if her parents would hear it due to the incredibly thick walls of their home. She continued to listen on her knees as her bright blue hair swirled around her… everything was eerily quiet down there now.

* * *

Hades took several deep heaving breathes as he tried to calm down, around him the throne room was a complete mess as his detonation had scorched and charred most of the furniture and sculptures in the room, even the long greying drapes around the windows were badly burnt. Persephone picked herself up from the seat of the throne and pushed herself back into a sitting position.

'Oy vey, if this yutz gets back to the surface my rep is shot..' Hades slapped his head with disbelief. Both Pain and Panic rematerialized and were just about to offer to go and hunt down this creep when Persephone spoke.

'Um, what exactly did this guy look like?' Her voice was soft but the uneasiness of her tone made her husband suspicious and he whipped his head around to her so fast that if he were mortal he'd have given himself whiplash.

'Why..' Hades responded in a low apprehensive tone, a brow kinking curiously upwards as he regarded her through narrowed eyes.

'It's just that there was a soul here earlier asking to go back to the surface..' Persephone responded in a slow fretful voice. For a few seconds Hades only stared at her in disbelief.

'_What?-!_' The fiery god suddenly roared out as his flames rippled yellow in alarm.

Both imps blinked in shock before Pain lent in to Panic.

'Oh she is gonna get it now..' The chubby pink imp hissed to his skinny green partner who threw a nervous glance to Hades but fortunately for them their boss was not listening.

'_Ohh_..' Hades groaned with despair as he slapped his forehead. 'Sephy _please_ tell me that ya did _not_ let it go back..' There was a definite whining undertone in his voice as the god looked pleadingly at his wife… she couldn't have helped him escape Tartarus.

'Uhh…' Persephone flushed a deep peachy shade, instantly looking very insecure and fiddling with her skull-shaped platinum wedding ring nervously. '-I, uh, mighta.. sorta did..' She finally replied in a very meek tone then lowering her eyes to the stone floor of the throne room so she wouldn't have to see his reaction.

'_Ahyeeeeeehhhhhah…!-!_'

The fiery Lord of the Dead's holler of anguish filled the throne room causing Persephone to flinch as her husband clutched his face as it flashed a furious red and his flames rippled over his shoulders and burnt brightly as the god seemed to lose control of himself. The noise and flames issuing from their boss made both Pain and Panic's eyes widen fearfully.

'Oh my gods..' The chubby pink imp cried as Hades smouldered furiously.

'C'mon, let's get outta here..' Panic yelped out, seizing Pain by the arm and running off while dragging his partner with him.

Even after Hades finished hollering Persephone kept her eyes firmly fixed on the floor of the throne room, focusing solely on one of the ornate swirls carved into the stone. She could feel the smouldering heat off of her frustrated husband and she didn't blame the imps for running off in fright, she'd seen them disappear off out of the corner of her eye. There was now a long heavy pause in which the silence spiralled horribly… and even though her fiery husband hadn't said a word to her yet she could feel his unyielding gaze boring into her. The next second he vanished in a curl of black smoke, reappearing instantly on his side of the throne.

Persephone repressed a shiver as her husband sat down next to her, his long bony fingers drummed his arm rest in a slow deliberate rhythm which tingled her nerves.

'I'm so sorry sweetie..' She whispered in a soft meek tone finally daring to lift her green eyes up from the throne room floor and turn them to look at her husband's face. Hades' gaze was steady and firm, it wasn't fury that flashed in his large black pupils it was more like disappointment. Persephone wanted to cringe under his stern gaze, she hated this even more than when he was angry. She instantly felt the urge to qualify her position.

'I swear by the Styx I had no idea it was him..' Persephone stammered nervously, her eyes dropping down to her fingers which were clasped together in her lap. '-I never thought it could be him..' At these words Hades' fingers stopped drumming and the fiery god gave a deep sigh of displeasure.

'Ya still shouldn't have let him go without consultin' me babe..' Hades tone was low, soft and sombre. His voice sent a fresh wave of guilt through her.

'You weren't here..' Persephone murmured.

'I would've been if ya _called!_' His voice snapped instantly, his fingers curling into a tight fist making his pale protruding knuckle bones whiten. This time Persephone did wince, he rarely spoke to her with such an abrasive tone so the goddess was always timid when he did.

'I'm sorry..' She muttered again as a single tear rolled down her face, Persephone made no attempt to wipe it away, instead she let it roll down as if it symbolized how much she meant her apology.

Hades gave another deep rolling sigh, his fist uncurling as his fingers relaxed again. His other hand, which had been resting on top of the throne's backrest, appeared and moved to touch her face. Persephone, who was still on edge, flinched at his touch as the god curled his long fingers around her chin, his thumb brushed the tear from her cheek.

'Seph, do you know why I've been shieldin' ya from Tartarus all this time?' Hades voice was soft as he tilted her head gently towards him, letting go of her face once her eyes were focused on him again.

'Because I'm too soft and you think I can't handle it..' Persephone replied meekly, this had always been what she had thought anyway.

'No, that ain't it babe.' The fiery god closed his eyes briefly with slight exasperation at her reasoning, did she really think he thought so little of her abilities?

'It's not?' Persephone sounded with a hint of surprise in her submissive tone, her green eyes widening as her neat eyebrows furrowed in confusion. When her husband opened his eyes again their was a flash of sorrow in his gaze.

'No.' The fiery god's golden eyes burned intensely into hers holding her gaze almost hypnotically. 'I need to keep you away from Tartarus to protect ya from the dammed..'

'Protect me?' Persephone blinked stunned before kinking a brow.

'You're my greatest weakness Seph..' Hades responded softly. '-if those twisted souls ever got the chance then they'd use ya to get t'me..' His golden eyes hardened at these words and his gaze was no longer focused on her. 'I won't let that happen..' The fiery god murmured firmly before refocused on his wife, his gaze softening as Persephone stared up at him in amazement. It had never occurred to her that souls in the Underworld might view her as a target to get one over on her husband before… but obviously that was what this Sisyphus-soul had seen her as.

'Isn't there anything you can do about Sisyphus?' Persephone sounded gently, hoping that she had not screwed everything up by letting him go back to the surface.

'Don't you worry about him my sweet..' Hades suddenly threw her a twisted smirk then added in a low secretive tone, '-I know _exactly_ how to deal with that schmuck.' The fiery god then instantly vanished out in a pillar of flames leaving Persephone both alone and confused. She wasn't sure what plans Hades had for Sisyphus but that wasn't what was bugging her. Usually when her husband left she got a kiss, or a peck on the cheek at the very least. However this time he'd gone without giving her even so much as a hug… perhaps he was not going to forgive her so easily for this one..

* * *

It didn't take much for Hades to figure out where Sisyphus had gone… in fact it was so damn obvious that even the imps could have figured it out with little difficulty. So the fiery god simply appeared out of a towering inferno of flames seized Sisyphus' soul by the thick of his neck, pausing only to order his terrified wife Merope to give her dead husband full burial rites, then he vanished out in a tower of flames once more, manifesting himself straight into Tartarus with the soul.

Sisyphus grunted in pain as he hit the bare rocky ground. The dead soul opened his eyes in shock realising that this was impossible because he was dead. As he lifted himself off of the ground Sisyphus stared at his arms and hands in shock. Instead of being see-through like he was the first time he'd come down he was solid… like he had a living breathing body. This was confusing because he knew he was dead, he'd seen his own lifeless corpse before Hades had spirited him away from his home in Corinth.

'You _are_ dead before you think otherwise..' A cool male voice sounded from directly behind Sisyphus causing the dead mortal to turn around, instantly finding himself face to face with Hades. 'Your what we in the Underworld like to call a 'corporal-soul'. It basically means that you are dead but you will have all the sensations of a livin' breathin' mortal..' Hades smirked widely as he wandered idly in a circle around Sisyphus before bending in close to his face adding, '-it makes your sufferin' in Tartarus seem all the more _real_..' The fiery god's smirk twisted into something horrible and inherently evil at this point, clearly he had something big planned for his newest inmate.

'So… whatta ya say we get this show on the road, huh?' Hades suddenly pulled back rubbing his hands together gleefully and still smirking widely, although it looked less evil and more like that of a game-show host now. 'Sisyphus, welcome to Tartarus, home of eternal torment since the dawn of time and as we like to say down here' The fiery god snapped his fingers making a lei-garland of black appear around Sisyphus' neck. '_Ahala-mah-loha_, which means do ya like hot or extra-crispy?' Hades the burnt the lei-garland off without singeing Sisyphus in the slightest then chuckled as his newest inmate's eyes widened at this trick. 'C'mon Sisy, I got a special punishment lined up _juust_ for you..' He drawled, grinning maliciously then pushing the dead mortal forwards and the two of them began walking towards a steep slope not to far in front of them. It was the first real chance that Sisyphus had to see the realm of Tartarus. The first thing he'd noticed was that the temperature was swelteringly hot and the whole place smelt strongly of sulphur. The rocky terrain was a deep bloody red shade and the ground was almost as hot as the temperature in the stale air. Up above them there was a light reddish orange haze which misted the dark cavernous roof above them, almost like a false sky.

'Alright, pay attention babe, I'm only gonna say this once..' Hades' voice sounded sternly causing the soul's eyes to snap around to the fiery god, noticing that now the god was joined by his two imp-minions Pain and Panic. The imps had never missed a new inmate's induction to their punishment and were both grinning wickedly from behind their boss' chiton. It was at this moment that Sisyphus noticed they were standing in front of a huge slope and at the base of this veering cliff-side slant was a huge boulder. The fiery god only paused in his words to smirk at the look on Sisyphus' face as he took in his new task. He so wanted his smirk to be evil and frightening, perhaps even more so than he had with that jerk Peirithous who tried to run off with his wife way back when they'd just been dating… _this schmeil kept my kid prisoner for nine days straight and nearly sent him into an eternal coma… _if it were up to Hades he would spend eternity throwing fireballs at this guy until time ended, at least that would satisfy his boiling bloodlust… however he couldn't do this for a few reasons:

…Alpha, as much fun as it would be to torture this yutz for eternity the fiery god just didn't have the time nor the patience to do it, he hated prolonged exposure with souls which was why they all had 'self-inflicting' punishments..

…Beta, he was impeded from doing such a thing by one of his own decrees. The Fairness in Tartarus Act, which he'd drafted himself to protect his Underworld assets and stop the other gods meddling in his affairs, clearly stated that all souls condemned to an eternity in Tartarus were to be punished solely on their crimes and damnation was not to be influenced by the personal opinions of the affected parties..

…Gamma, this guy just wasn't worth the time and effort..

So Hades kept his smirk light and friendly. He'd learnt very quickly in his first few years of managing Tartarian souls that these souls seemed to find the friendly approach a lot more unnerving than when he went in all flames blazing, mostly because by this point they had seen him fully-flamed and were wary of him suddenly switching back.

'Sisyphus, buddy…' The fiery god beamed widely, flashing the mortal a mouthful of fangs. '-ya mind if I call ya Sisy?' He didn't wait for a response but slipped an arm around the dead mortal's shoulders and pushed him forward. 'You've really given us gods the run around haven't ya? Huh? Don't be shy about admittin' it, we're all pals here, right boys?' Hades turned to his minions winking slyly and the two imps nodded vigorously like those ridiculous nodding toys people stuck on the front of their chariots. Hades continued airily, 'I gotta say kid, the way ya sold out Zeus for a water fountain? Hah, that took some real chutzpah and I admire that..' The fiery god kept his teeth gritted as he uttered the last part, quashing the mental reminder that this was the guy who had also kidnapped his son. '-and for that reason, I'm gonna make you an offer ya can't refuse, how does that sound… sweet, huh?'

Pain and Panic exchanged a sly grin which went unnoticed by Sisyphus and once again Hades didn't give him a chance to respond.

'Ok, here's the deal Sisy..' Hades suddenly let go of Sisyphus and swivelled around so he was now stood beside the large boulder at the bottom of the steep slope of the Tartarian cliff. '-your punishment for sellin' out _Bolt_ Boy, imprisonin' Thanatos and disruptin' the cosmic balance yadda, yadda, so on and so forth..' Hades rolled his wrist not bothering to list every reason that Sisyphus was here as they all knew anyway. '-is to push this boulder up to the top of this ridge, ya got that Sisy?' The dead mortal blinked at the size of the huge boulder and was about to open his mouth to ask a question when once again Hades cut him off. 'And what's so sweet about this ya ask?' The fiery god continued jauntily. 'Well Sisy old pal, if you can get this boulder up to the top of this ridge then I will _personally_ grant your freedom..'

'Really?' Sisyphus sounded, kinking an eyebrow at the god suspiciously.

'Cross my heart and hope to..' Hades paused after crossing his heart with a finger and blinked realising he was an immortal. '-well, heh, y'know your just gonna have to take my word for it..' The god smirked widely at him.

'How do I know your on the level?' Sisyphus sounded in the same sceptical tone.

'Well, lemmie put it this way bub, ya ain't gonna find out standin' around doin' nothin' now are ya?' The fiery god's smirk grew even wider. Sisyphus then sighed heavily before moving over to the rock and beginning his task.

Hades meanwhile wandered over to where his two imps were stood watching Sisyphus as he began heaving the boulder slowly up the slope.

'Your not really gonna grant him his freedom, are ya boss?' Panic sounded both curious and a little worried at the same time.

'_Pfft_..' Hades snorted in amusement, waving a hand dismissively. '_No_… but he doesn't know that!' Both the fiery Lord of the Dead and his two imp minions laughed with fiendish delight at this while Sisyphus continued to work above them.

* * *

After a long hard slog pushing the large round boulder Sisyphus finally made it to the top.

'No way..' Pain sounded, his jaw hitting the floor in shock.

'That's impossible..' Panic stuttered apprehensively then glancing nervously at Hades who was frowning now. '-isn't it?' Suddenly a twisted smirk crossed the god's blue lips and he vanished out in a curl of smoke. Hades reappeared beside Sisyphus and studied the boulder that was now sitting comfortably at the top of the ridge.

'Ah right, cool bean..' The fiery god sounded, pretending to congratulate Sisyphus before pulling out a Release Form and continuing airily, '-now to just give this the ol' Aidoneus scrawl and-' Hades deliberately pushed the scroll against the boulder, as if using the surface of the rock as a lean to sign the scroll. In actual fact he had pushed the boulder with just enough force to cause it to roll backwards down the ridge, right back to it's starting position.

'_Whoops_…' Hades faked a 'stunned-yet-apologetic' look, having had centuries to work on his act he was an accomplished actor. '-my bad Sisy..' Immediately the scroll in his fingers disappeared in a curl of smoke.

Down below them both Pain and Panic were rolling on the rocky Tartarus floor practically crying with mirth at the shocked look on Sisyphus' face.

'Guess your gonna have to start again, eh Sisyputz?' The fiery god smirked as the dead mortal frowned deeply at him in annoyance before setting off back to the boulder. Hades vanished out and reappeared back by his grinning minions. 'Keep an eye on the newbie boys, I gotta go check on the kids..' The fiery god then vanished out in a tower of flames leaving Pain and Panic to supervise Sisyphus' punishment.

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey peeps… the chapter title to this one just referencing the punishment of Sisyphus… and also in recognition of Angel's 'Boulder, Boulder' chant which made me laugh (I hope I'm getting a 'Yaaaay, Boulder!)… XP_

_Ok, as many of you must know by now Sisyphus was punished to roll a boulder up a steep ridge until the end of time. Since this is Disney and Sisyphus is a smart man I thought it rather fitting to have Hades making a 'false' deal… it made no sense to me why Sisyphus, a smart man, would just blindly roll a boulder up a hill so I twisted it and I love the outcome.._

_I must admit I was originally going to have a huge bust up between Hades and Persephone but I found that it wasn't going to fit the story mood so I changed it, in honesty this works a little better don't you think?_

_Will Hades forgive Persephone any time soon?_

_Stay tuned.._

_Ditzy X_


	34. Potholes on the Road to Recovery

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**BubblyButtons2me: Yup, another jerk gets what he deserves… glad you like it! X**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: Most of Hades personality in his deal with Sisyphus was taken from the film in which he made his deal with Hercules, but I do love it when he's bad and I just couldn't resist having a little fun with the myth and having Hades push the boulder back down seemed like something he would do! X**_

_**DisneyPrincess: Like I said before I did consider writing a blazing row between the two of them but after deducing where the story was going next, and the time jumping I'm about to do, it just didn't seem right and it would take more chapters than I need to reconcile them. And yeh, 'poor guy' just doesn't cut it for Sisyphus… maybe something along the lines of 'you burn in Tartarus' is more fitting X**_

_**Black Diamond07: Ah, you have no idea how right you are when you say 'it's bad for the baby to have negative thoughts' but once I start describing the pregnancy symptoms over the next couple of chapters it should all become clear. And as for Hades apologising to Persephone, the answer to that is just below. X**_

_**MusicLuver78901: I agree, pesky hormones… but again to whether Hades apologises or not, the answer is in this chapter X**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Thirty-Four:****Potholes on the Road to Recovery..**

Hades appeared in his study, intending on just sorting out Sisyphus' paperwork tonight so he didn't have to do it in the morning when the Underworld was operating once more. Since they were nine days behind in business Hades would need everyone to pull a double shift just to stop the subterranean realm from plunging into total chaos. Hermes had Hecate had already promised to help out in whatever way they could and Persephone was once again leaving the Elysian Fields solely in the care of her three loyal Sirens so she was free to help out her husband with the massive number of souls expected to drop in.

The weary Lord of the Dead sighed heavily… the first few days back on the job were gonna feel like a weekend of Tartarus for the Underworld inhabitants. The fiery god quickly jotted down all the missing information on Sisyphus' file before stamping his pre-approved Tartarus Torture Document and stapling it onto the back of his information and filing it away into the correct location so it was out of sight and out of mind. The blue-flamed god then picked up his coffee mug and took a sip as he wandered idly towards the stairwell to the private quarters of his home. All he had to do now was check on the kids, have a quick shower to wash the smell of brimstone and fear off of him, then curl up next to his sleeping wife and brace himself for the mountain of work that was going to hit them tomorrow… at least, that was the plan.

The moment the fiery god walked into the throne room a faint glowing golden light drew his eyes to the chessboard to the far right of the room. There on the huge map of Greece was his ailing son. The grey shadows under Thanatos' golden eyes seemed more pronounced and darker in the weak light of his golden flaming quiff. The young godling was still in his night-chiton and sitting cross-legged, covering the space between Crete and Cyprus holding a small bowl of ambrosia. Every so often the golden-flamed godling dipped his spoon in and ladled himself a mouthful of the rice and honey based dish, his golden eyes were narrowed lazily at a single carved-stone figure in a quiet yet contemplating way, never wavering from their concentration as the young god fed himself. Hades watched this in silence for a moment, wondering what his sickly son was doing up this late when he should be resting.

'What're ya doin' Than?' The blue-flamed god finally broke the silence, his eyes narrowed with slight irritation.

'Just gettin' myself somethin' to eat..' Thanatos responded lightly, not even taking his eyes off of the chess piece in front of him. The God of Death-in-training lifted the now almost empty bowl as if emphasizing his point before spooning himself another mouthful.

'You should be resting kiddo, I need you in almost fit condition for tomorrow..' Hades responded in a gentler tone and heading over to his son to ruffle his flames affectionately.

'Am I to take it that Sisyphus has been punished then?' Thanatos sounded, his voice slightly gloomier than usual while his eyes never wavered from the figure sat in front of him.

''Fraid so brat.' Hades sounded as Thanatos ate his last mouthful and the bowl vanished off to the kitchen sink in a puff of black smoke. The fiery godling then slipped off of the chessboard and finally tore his eyes away from the figure on the board so he could now look at his father.

'You shouldn't be mad at mom y'know..' This comment was so out of the blue that Hades blinked in momentary confusion, thrown slightly off track by it.

'I… uh… what?-!' The blue-flamed god sounded unsurely throwing his son a bewildered look.

'It's not her fault he got away..' Thanatos continued causing his father to sigh heavily.

'I know that Than-' Hades began but his son cut over him, a flash of concern glinting in the younger godling's golden eyes.

'So your gonna to smooth things over with her then?' Thanatos asked him instantly, causing a warm smirk to twist onto his father's full blue lips.

'Yeh, if she's awake when I get up there I'll talk to your mother tonight, ok brat?'

'Good..' Thanatos sighed with relief at this news. '-because in her condition mom really doesn't need any unnecessary stress..' The golden-flamed godling then blinked and slapped his hand over his mouth as if he'd said too much, '_Whoops! _I should _not_ have said that-' The godling suddenly flared irritated with himself. '-I _definitely_ should _not_ have said that.. oy vey, me and my big gob..' He sighed wearily, shaking his flaming head causing his golden quiff to ripple.

'Huh?' Hades blinked completely baffled by his son's words. 'Whadda ya mean she don't need any 'unnecessary stress'?' It was Thanatos' turn to blink at his father now.

'Um, maybe you should just go and speak to mom..' The fiery godling sounded sheepishly, not wanting to risk getting in any hot water from the Fates, those women were surprisingly touchy about how much could be revealed at one time.

'Fine, if your not gonna tell me then you can just waltz right up to bed mister..' Hades snapped moodily, pointing his finger at the stairway to their private quarters.

'Meh..' Thanatos shrugged unconcerned by his rebuking. '-I was headin' that way anyway..' He then vanished in a swirl of dark shadowy smoke, his disembodied voice adding cheerfully, '-night dad.' Hades rolled his golden eyes at his son's quick-witted quip.

'Oy, there's no need to be a smart-aleck about it..' The fiery god's eyes then turned to the chessboard where the lonely figure his son had been staring at was still sitting out. Hades' golden eyes blinked at it in surprise… _Zeus?_ The stone-carved figure of Zeus on a podium, that elevated him above the other Olympian figures, and clutching a miniature thunderbolt was standing there like a lonely sentry. The blue-flamed god stroked his long chin thoughtfully as he mused over it.. Why would his son have been sitting contemplating over the figure of Zeus? If Hades didn't know better he'd say that his son had been scheming… but that was crazy, it was completely mashuga… wasn't it?

Hades sighed heavily as he necked the last of his coffee and his mug vanished back into the kitchen. If he got a moment tomorrow he'd ask his son about it.. The fiery god then vanished out in a swirl of black smoke and reappeared in Melinoe's gloomy little room. After giving his sleeping daughter the once over, tucking her in and a kiss on the forehead, the fiery god vanished out in a puff of smoke and reappeared immediately inside the en-suite bathroom leading out to the huge private suite he shared with his wife and proceeded it turn on the shower..

* * *

Persephone was curled up in bed waiting for her husband to return from Tartarus. Usually she didn't wait up for Hades but the gnawing guilt over Sisyphus was eating her emotionally from the inside. She couldn't believe that she had been that stupid, the mortal that had kept her son away from her for nine days had been right in front of her and she had just let him _leave!_ Her blonde head turned as her green eyes widened slightly at the sound of the shower in their en-suite turning on. This made her feel even worse because Hades knew that she hated the smell of Tartarus on him. She frowned to herself feeling that he shouldn't have bothered showering, she deserved to smell the evidence of her own betrayal..

After about twenty to thirty minutes the shower finally stopped running and the bathroom door opened revealing her blue-skinned husband already dressed in his navy two-skull-pinned night-chiton. Hades was still completely bald but his blue-flames burst into life as the god's golden eyes saw his white-skinned wife sat up in bed waiting for him.

'Well, well..' Hades drawled in a low timbre, his eyes narrowing lazily at the sight of Persephone in her black lacy little night-chiton. '-look who's still awake..' A lazy grin curled it's way over his lips, this was a rare treat. Usually his wife was fast asleep by the time he crawled into bed.

'Oh, I couldn't sleep..' Persephone sounded in a soft voice, her green eyes still shone with worry. '-not without knowing everything was ok between us.. I would never have let him go if I knew-' Hades raised a hand halting her in her tracks and the fiery god crawled into bed beside his wife.

'I know ya wouldn't have let him go babe..' Hades responded gently, his arm curling around his wife's waist and pulling her into him so she was now leaning her head on his shoulder. '-and for the record I'm sorry too, I shouldn't have spooked ya the way I did..' He looked genuinely apologetic as his golden eyes focused on her face and the goddess smiled.

'No, you were right sweetie, I should have called you..' Persephone said as one hand rested comfortably on his chest. Hades' own fingers instantly curled around hers and the god's smirk widened in amusement.

'Why don't we just say we're both sorry and call it even my sweet?' He sounded amiably, raising her fingers and kissing them gently. Persephone's smile widened at this suggestion and she snuggled up closer to him, pushing her body up against his as if seeking out some of his body heat.

'Well, if you insist sweetie..' She purred softly like a contented kitten as she was now all cosy and warm next to her husband. Persephone merely relaxed in her husband's embrace as all her previous worries and tensions slipped away before remembering that there was one little thing that she needed to enlighten her husband about.

'Hades..' She lifted her head slightly looking at her husband who was now resting his eyes.

'Hmm..' The fiery god murmured to show that her was not asleep but merely dozing next to her while he listened.

'There's something else I've been meaning to tell you..' The Queen of the Underworld bit her lip tentatively and at her words Hades slowly peeled his eyes open to look at her.

'Uh-oh don't tell me, ya freed someone else.' The fiery god drawled while raising his brows at his wife.

'What? _No_..' Persephone frowned slightly before continuing, looking somewhat nervous as she did. '-I'm uh.. I'm pregnant.' The white-skinned goddess finally managed to get the words out and her husband's eyes seemed to widen as if the impact of these words had hit him hard.

'_Oh_..' He finally managed to drawl, shock still registering on his face as he tried to take in this new development. Persephone blinked at him, unsure how to react to Hades' response, she didn't know if he was happy about this new baby or not.

'You… didn't want another child did you?' Persephone sounded softly then lowered her eyes to his shoulder after seeing a awkward glimmer in his golden eyes.

'_Uh_…' Hades sounded uneasily. '-in all honesty babe, no, not really.' Persephone suddenly looked both shocked and alarmed by this. She then clutched her belly protectively as if trying to shield the tiny foetus from hearing the truth. The fiery god saw the tears well up in his wife's lovely green eyes then decided to qualify his position.

'Persephone, don't get me wrong babe, ya know I'd do anythin' for our kids..' Hades sighed heavily, thinking how best to explain this to his young wife. '-but I'm a middle-aged god, I don't wanna be spendin' _all_ my golden centuries raisin' a brooda brats..' The fiery god then wrapped his arms more securely around his wife's waist and narrowed his eyes lazily. '-I wanna spend it with you my sweet.' Persephone's face softened at his words, she sometimes forgot about the vast age-gap between them.. Hades was not a young god anymore, in fact if the truth was he was actually in the prime of his life.. It had never occurred to her that her husband simply did not want a large family but it made sense now that she thought about it. He'd wanted to experience fatherhood but unlike Zeus he didn't want to become a slave to it..

A sympathetic girly smile curved onto the Queen of the Underworld's cherry coloured lips and the goddess took one of his large wrists into her hand and pushed his hand to her abdomen.

'I understand sweetie..' A soft sigh issued from her as her green eyes narrowed towards him. '-but perhaps there's just enough love left for this one _last_ kid..' There was a slight pause as her husband considered her words… and then a smirk appeared on his face.

'_Sephy.._' Hades purred in his wife's ear as one of his long bluish-grey fingers then ran across her cheek before slipping a curl of golden hair back off of her face. Persephone gave a slight sigh as her eyes fluttered sleepily… these types of caresses always made her drowsy.

'-ya know I'll love this kid even more if it's our last..' Hades continued to croon softly as his fingers slipped down her stomach then across her hip as he gripped her securely around the waist, pulling her into him. Persephone's arms slipped lazily around her husband's neck as he began kissing her lips tenderly before slipping her the tongue passionately, his fingers were busy roaming her body causing it to quiver in response to his touch..

* * *

'Heh, this is gonna be just like old times..' Hades purred in his wife's ear as the two of them stood side by side on the docks of the Styx. The two Rulers of the Underworld were a rare sight to be seen at the docks these days, usually Persephone would be in the Elysian Fields reconnecting with her own section of the Underworld, catching up with her souls, getting the low down from her Sirens and granting any outstanding reincarnation requests that she had not been able to grant due to her busy summer schedule. But as usual, it had been the legion of good souls in her charge that had insisted she assist her husband with his duties, they would be fine… after all what was a few more weeks in paradise to them? It was Hades' job to scrutinize the new arrivals, every single soul that arrived was to be inspected by the fiery god and then directed to one of the three judges to receive 'Doom Service' but since the Underworld had been on strike there were now too many souls for Hades to inspect alone so it was Persephone's job to step up and help her husband out. As Queen of the Underworld her opinion was just as valuable as her husband's. On the rare occasions the subterranean couple were seen together they always worked as a team. Hades was gifted at being able to spot liars, tricksters and troublemakers and even though he'd been doing this job for what seemed like an eternity he wasn't quite so gifted when it came to seeing pure good souls. In his haste he was quick to overlook details and often missed selfless acts or misjudged them as 'exaggerated' or 'staged' events. When Persephone was with him she was quick to correct these mistakes and because she was there to give a second opinion the two of them could get through the mass of souls quicker..

'I know..' Persephone responded, looking excited to be working with her husband again. '-it's been way too long since we've done this.' She gave a slightly excitable squeak. She loved working with her husband because it reminded her of their dating days when he was first training her how to meet, greet and asses new souls… and of course on those rare quiet moments she could 'fool around' with the boss..

'Y'know..' Hades mused thoughtfully. '-it has been too long my sweet, we should try doin' this together more often, work's much more _pleasurable_ when you're here to help out.' His brows contracted and wiggled suggestively causing the young Goddess of Life to giggle like some mischievous schoolgirl before wrapping her arm around him, pushing herself up on her tip-toes and kissing his lips keenly. Momentarily forgetting what they were supposed to be doing by the Styx the fiery god responded just as eagerly, his fingers running slowly down her back, seizing her bottom and grinding into her before his fingers found her purple chiton pin.. Hades only got as far as to twiddle the purple skull-flower pin idly before a voice spoke,

'Yeesh, I came to help you guys out, not get grossed out..' Hermes' grim voice dowsed the lovers like a bucket of icy cold water and both subterranean rulers parted lips and turned as one to the tiny blue god who was now fluttering slightly above their eye level dressed in his honorary Underworld garb of dark grey with silver cap and cadalus.

'Hermes..' Hades sounded amiably, repressing the urge to fling a fireball in his direction for his comment towards them. '-I need ya to keep an eye on ma boy, don't let him over-exert himself as he's still not a hundred percent... and if he even so much as sneezes today he's to come straight back, capeesh?'

'Hades, don't ya think your bein' a bit overprotective here-' Hermes started to object but Hades flared a light irritated orange.

'I said.. _capeesh?_' The fiery Lord of the Dead's voice was low and dangerous as his eyes narrowed in a 'don't-argue-with-me' manner. Hermes instantly raised his arms in defeat.

'Alright, alright, I hear ya loud an' clear..' The tiny blue Messenger God stuttered nervously and Hades' stern expression melted into a twisted smirk. Persephone pitied her husband's position concerning their son. Neither of them wanted Thanatos to resume his work so quickly as he still had not completely recovered from his ordeal in Corinth but unfortunately Thanatos was Death which meant that no soul could die without him first cutting their lifelines, they had no choice but to send him out… but if Hermes was watching over him then at least they could be sure their son was going to be ok.

'Aw what?' A disembodied voice sounded and the next second Thanatos appeared out of a curl of smoky darkness, scythe in hand. 'I don't need a _babysitter_..' The golden flamed godling looked slightly offended by this suggestion. It was the first time Hermes had seen his protégé since he'd been kidnapped by Sisyphus and on first glance the tiny blue god suddenly understood Hades' concerns. Thanatos really did look ill, his pale white skin had an almost ashen tinge to it, the grey shadows under his eyes were more pronounced and darker in colour, even his cheeks were slimmer and the bone beneath was more pronounced after starving in a closet for nine days. He looked frightening and his appearance alarmed his mentor greatly.

'Err, go easy on your dad short-man..' Hermes cut in before either Hades or Persephone could respond. The tiny blue god fluttered over to Thanatos and stood beside him on the docks, both gods were now exactly the same height. '-he's just lookin' out for ya.'

'I know that Hermes, doesn't mean he has to be a jerk about it..' The fiery godling sounded, rolling his golden eyes wearily.

'_Hey_..' Hades snapped suddenly irritated by his son's sullen mood. '-less of the attitude mister, alright? We're all in the same boat here..' The fiery god frowned slightly at his son, more out of concern than annoyance.

'Hey, how did Mel get out of this?' Thanatos suddenly asked when he couldn't see his little sister standing with their parents.

'Melinoe is going to be working the Graveyard shift with Hecate and the imps sweet-flames.' Persephone sounded amiably to her son who only kinked a brow at her.

'And just how many souls do ya think I can reap in one day?' The God of Death-in-training asked her in a blatantly rude tone causing his mother to blink in surprise and his father to flare irritably.

'As many as you can..' Hades scowled deeply at his son, getting tired of this new attitude problem. '-and since we're on the subject of reaping souls, isn't that somethin' you ought to be doin' right now?' The fiery god raised both his brows in a mocking manner to his son and the golden-flamed godling sighed.

'Yeh, yeh, yeh..' Thanatos waved his father off flippantly. '-I'm goin', I'm goin'..' The next second he vanished out in a swirl of black smoky darkness, his disembodied voice adding, '-I'm gone.'

'Oy vey, friggin' _kids_..' Hades inwardly groaned, shaking his head in disbelief. '-ya save their hind and they just get _pissy_ with ya.' His flaming hair flared an irritable light yellow shade before it returned blue as Persephone's hand touched his forearm.

'Give him time sweetie, he's still trying to come to terms with his ordeal..' The white-skinned Goddess of Life smiled sweetly at her husband, her dainty white fingers linking with his larger blue ones.

'Yeh..' Hermes nodded in agreement. '-he'll be back to his usual light-hearted self in no time..' The tiny blue god then shot off like a neon blue bullet to go and track down his protégé's whereabouts on the surface.

'I hope your right..' Hades drawled in a low concerned tone. Now all he and his wife could do was wait for the first batch of new souls to arrive..

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey peeps, this chapter is basically just rounding everything up before I do the first of a few time-jumping chapters. The next chapter will be taking place in the spring so I'm completely skating over the busy Underworld season and choosing to focus on Persephone's pregnancy._

_There are a few subtle links to myth thrown in this chapter that big myth buffs like myself will notice. The first is concerning Thanatos' ill appearance. In Greek myth the God of Death was described as looking like an 'ailing child' and since Thanatos has just gone through such a horrible ordeal it made sense that he would come out the other side looking rough.. In myth Thanatos (Mors or Death) supposedly has a heart of steel and a thick stomach, he is unswayable and inevitable, myth points to Sisyphus as being his first real test so it makes sense to me to use him as the beginning of a catalyst of events that will eventually turn Than from light-hearted boy into the cool-calculating figure of Death, which is basically what this story is about… and what he was doing in the throne room with the stone-figure of Zeus will be key to the story._

_The second myth point concerns the mention of Melinoe on the Graveyard shift, the young goddess was always out at night so this signals that she is starting to get the same kind of training that Thanatos had before receiving his position of God of Death-in-training and this too will be getting a mention in the next chapter._

_For the final note I want to explain Hades' reaction to Persephone's pregnancy. In the film and series Hades shows open aversion to both the sheer number of gods on Olympus as well as the arguing and favouritism that happens on the big cloud. Since in myth it is deemed that Hades and Persephone only have three children (depending what myths you read of course) it made sense to me to have Hades to object to having more children, although he his happy to accept this child if it will indeed be his last…_

_Stay tuned for more soon…_

_~Ditzy x_


	35. The Spring Time Blues,,

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**BubblyButtons2me: Aww… thanks hun X**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: Um, yup, plotting evil schemes seems to be a coping mechanism inherited from Hades, I think the years of mistreatment and disrespect from Zeus kind of just made him the natural target of Than's scheming though,.. I guess Hades was right in chap6 Than has figured out the real Zeus without having to be told.. X **_

_**DisneyPrincess: Wow, really? Hades sounds like your dad? Well glad it's realistic… but, uh, now I feel bad for your brother… and yeh, I can relate to Than too, I was a really sickly kid when I was younger and my parents used to freak out about the tiniest things so I just wanted to use it in my story… although suffering fits, projectile vomiting on doctors and nurses then blacking out isn't quite the same X**_

_**Black Diamond07: Lol, ok first off, Than's eleven.. he hasn't quite hit that teen-rebellion phase just yet (which considering how he behaves now is quite a scary concept to consider), though I do have this little ficlet idea that involves the end of Zeus and the Olympians reign on Greece which involves a few biblical references and new characters (one of which is the future hubby of our dear Melinoe) but whether it gets written is another story.. and secondly, I have been neglecting Melinoe a bit and will be trying to rectify that I promise. Glad your enjoying the aftermath of Than's ordeal, it's key to the next bit of the story! X**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Thirty-Five:****The Spring-Time Blues..**

…_Persephone gazed around the fields she was stood in suspiciously… it was way too sappy and cheerful to be a real field… the goddess could see bright lush green grass dotted with colourful wild flora and a rolling crystal blue waterfall… it was incredibly warm, like a hot summer's day with a nice cool breeze… the sky was incredibly blue, almost as bright as her daughter's hair while the sun was dazzling the sky with it's radiance…_

…_The Goddess of Life then frowned in confusion as her green eyes took in the scenery around her… where was she supposed to be? The Elysian Fields?_

…_It was at this moment that Persephone noticed that she herself looked different than she usually did.._

'_What the-?' Persephone gasped out loud, lifting up her arms up and gazing at her lilac-tinted skin.. Why did she have a tan? She hated having a tan… Persephone's eyes narrowed with distaste at this before she looked down and saw something much worse… she was wearing something that was shapeless, floaty and the dreaded shade of white!_

…_She was dreaming… she had to be… she'd never wear anything this hideous in reality… on the plus side though, at least there was nobody around to see her.._

…_As soon as this thought came to her head she could see someone in the distance… Oh figs! Don't let it be Hades, please don't let it be Hades… the lilac-tinted Goddess of Life crossed her fingers and shut her eyes tight hoping that it wasn't her husband… However when the goddess opened her eyes she sighed as she recognised her husband's silhouette.. Even her dreams taunted her… although this was scarily more cheerful than any of her 'normal' dreams.._

…_Deciding to just go along with this insanely weird dream the Queen of the Underworld wandered over to where her husband was standing under a nearby tree with his back to her.. As she approached him she noticed that he too was sporting a bright healthy blue tan and he was not wearing his usual black chiton and navy under-tunic combo... Instead he was merely wearing a simple black chiton pinned at one shoulder exposing his biceps and toned upper body… If Persephone had doubted if this was a dream before she would have been certain of it now… Hades would never wear something that revealed this much of himself, he was very self-conscious about how his body looked even though Persephone couldn't understand why.. He was well-toned but still slim unlike Zeus who had 'chubby-muscle'…_

…_Persephone couldn't help but marvel at her husband's body in the close-fitting black chiton, admiring the way it hugged his figure, suddenly this dream wasn't so bad… Then the fiery god turned around to his wife as if knowing instinctively she was there and the goddess could only gaze at him with shock.. His blue flames were thicker than she'd ever seen them, as if the hair-line of his flames had not receded… His golden eyes were narrowed lazily as he took in her lilac tan, floaty dress and unruly golden hair… Persephone wanted to flush with embarressment, she must look a right state, but her blush didn't come.. She guessed that she wasn't embarrassed by this, but then, this was just a dream, why would she be?…_

…_Hades' smiled widely at her, but it wasn't his usual crooked smirk it was different and it creeped her out… his smile was adoring and gentle and so sappy it made her want to be sick… But she wasn't heaving, in fact, she was smiling back.. she could feel it stretching across her lips… And now the cutest furriest little bunnies and sweet feathery song birds were fluttering around the two of them and Hades was doing.. NOTHING!~!… Now this dream was seriously weirding her out… why wasn't he scowling at them?~?.. Or cursing and flinging fireballs like he usually did when something this sickly sweet was skulking around near them, then claiming he needed the 'target practise'.. what was going on here?~!… Despite her inward growing anxiety the goddess didn't express it on the outside, her dream-like self acted as if this was all normal… but it wasn't normal, it was far from normal…_

…_Ok Sephy, it's time to wake up…seriously, like right now… This dream was really starting to freak her out.. She could sense the anxiety in her heart tightening, her rapid breathing was making her chest heave, not that her pseudo-husband seemed to notice… On the conatary, Hades' golden eyes narrowed further, probably thinking that her chest was heaving due to desire rather than fear. His muscled arm suddenly slid around her waist and he pulled her slowly and deliberately close to her with such gentleness that it was almost alien to her… usually he just pulled her roughly against him when desire burned this avidly in his eyes, he had his soft and gentle at moments but he was never THIS soft or gentle…. This the kind of gentlemanly decorum he was displaying at this moment was so sickeningly nice that it was every damsel's fantasy… and Persephone was no damsel so instead of swooning over it she found herself feeling repulsed by it… What was he going to do next?.. Morph into Zeus?… Thankfully her husband did not, this dream was scary enough as it was without that pompous git making an appearance…_

…_However what her husband did next was just as shocking…_

…_Hades cradled her close to him and lowered his lips to her ear and murmured in such a gentle voice that it was spine-tinglingly chilly.._

'_You look so beautiful…'.._

* * *

…At this moment Persephone's bright green eyes snapped open and she gasped aloud, jerking upwards in alarm and trepidation. Her breathing was ragged and her heart was hammering like a jack-hammer as she took in the dark yet familiar sight of the huge bedroom suite she shared with her husband. Persephone sighed with relief as she swept her now damp hair off of her face before inspecting herself to make sure she wasn't wearing white or sporting a tan. Once Persephone realised that her skin was as white as snow and she was still dressed in her black lacy night-chiton. She sighed again as her heart beat slowed, flopping down against her black satin pillows..

'Oh thank Fates it was just a dream..' The Queen of the Underworld was instantly comforted by the sound of her own voice, at least she could now truly express what she felt.. It was at this point she glanced over to her husband's side of the bed and realised that it was empty. Her husband was already awake? It was the first day of spring and her husband would usually still be snuggled up in bed enjoying a _well_-_earned_ lie-in, but he wasn't…

So where was he?

The white-skinned goddess pushed back the bedcovers and slipped on her husband's dressing gown, tying it securely at the waist. Persephone then padded slowly towards the door and opened it..

As Persephone descended the stairs leading away from the private quarters of their Underworld home she could hear the curious noise of grunting coming from the throne room. It sounded as if her husband was straining to move something and this made Persephone even more intrigued to know what he was doing this early in the day..

When she finally reached the bottom step she blinked in shock by what greeted her.

Hades was stood by the chessboard while doing reps with a heavy set of black weights. It wasn't so much the sight of her husband using his weight-set as she'd seen him use them before but not this early in the morning..

'Hades..?' Persephone sounded taking the last step down onto the throne room and pulling the shoulder of the over-sized dressing gown back up as it had slipped slightly. Hades' full-focus had been on his workout so he hadn't even notice his wife standing there.. At the sound of her voice the god looked around..

'Seph..?' The fiery god sounded in surprise, blinking at her in amazement before recovering quickly and dropping the weights to the floor… they landed at his feet with a heavy clang. The fiery god only threw his wife a look of slight embarrassment at being caught..

'I didn't know you were working out again?' Persephone sounded as a light smile curved over her lips.

'Uh, yeh.. I've kinda let myself go in the last year..' The fiery god then patted his stomach which had indeed grown slightly round in recent months, though due to his baggy clothing it wasn't immediately obvious. '-so I figured I'd just dust off the ol' weights and use the quiet spring season to get myself back in shape..' A slight frown then formed on Hades' brow as he gazed at his wife slightly bemused as to why she was awake so early, they weren't due on Olympus with the kids for the spring festivities for ages yet.

'Since we're on the subject of rising early, how come your up sharp?' The fiery god sounded lifting the heavy weights once more as he kinked a brow at his wife. 'Spring doesn't officially start for another few hours yet..' Hades then pumped a few more reps before pausing and flashing his wife a smirk, cutting the blonde goddess off before she could even answer him. '-or didja just wake up, notice ma side of the bed was empty an' come lookin' for me, hmmm?'

'Well, kind of. I had a really freaky dream an-' Persephone sounded meekly but before she could explain it in more detail her husband Hades dropped his weights again.

'Say no more babe, say no more..' The fiery god instantly stepped over his weights, his arm turning into smoky vapour as he extended it to his wife, guiding her to the chessboard beside him and perching down with her next to him. '-c'mon Sephy, talk to me, do I need to go have words with our nephew Phantosis or what?' Persephone had lent her head against her now-sweaty husband, the smell of his sweat didn't bother her as much as the smell of Tartarus and she relaxed considerably in his warm embrace.

'Huh..' Persephone blinked in surprise at his words and lifted her head to look up at him. '-oh no, it's ok.. I don't think this is his fault anyway..' The blonde goddess gave her husband a knowing smile before her green eyes turned towards the neat baby bump on her abdomen.

'Huh?' It was Hades' turn to look bemused now.

'I think a certain little someone's growing powers are messing with my dreams..' Persephone returned a narrowed green gaze to her husband while pointing casually towards her bump. Immediately understanding filled the god's golden eyes as they rested on her neat little bump. She had been in second trimester of her pregnancy for two months now, the time when the immortal-foetus would start displaying powers. They hadn't noticed any power changes in Persephone to date, her powers just worked as normal, this was the first real piece of evidence they had of their unborn child's gifts. However, unlike with Melinoe and Thanatos Persephone actually suited being pregnant this time, her aura was positively glowing as youth and innocence flushed her face.

'Oh.' Hades gave an elongated sigh before releasing his wife and standing up to pick up his weights once more. 'That's a relief..' He then strained as he began mentally counting reps.

'A relief?' Persephone blinked, she'd had a freaky dream and he was relieved?

'Yeh..' Hades grunted as he continued with his reps. '-for a while I wondered if this kid actually had powers..' Hades then paused in his reps to pull a grimace at this. '-heh, imagine having to explain that one to Bolt Boy, huh?' The fiery god then shook off the mental image of Zeus laughing at them for having a powerless child before continuing with his reps and mental counting.

'I don't care if this baby isn't powerful, I'll love it anyway..' Persephone sounded snootily cradling her bump and scowling defensively at her husband.

'Yeh, yeh, me too babe-' The fiery god sounded dismissively. '-but ya gotta admit in this backwards Grecian world power is what gets ya the top gigs..' Hades sounded finishing the last of his reps before causing his weight set to vanish in a curl of black smoke and slumping down on the chessboard while sweating profusely.

'Be a doll an' pass me that towel beside ya babe?' He sounded lightly and Persephone twisted around and picked up the towel on her other side and handed it over to her husband who smirked before wiping the sweat from his brow and summoned himself a glass of water, necking it in one.

'No.' Persephone scowled and folded her arms as her husband did this, her mind still on their conversation. '-being the world's biggest Zeus-kissing suck up gets you the best gigs.'

Hades laughed freely at his wife's words and the adorable pout on her lips as she said them.

'Heh-heh, yeh… that explains why we're stuck down here doin' the pencil pushin' while the other gods are livin' it up, eh?' The fiery god flashed his wife a wide smirk, they complained about their Underworld home often but if truth be told, they wouldn't switch it for the rest of the cosmos… they had built a decent life together and had a brilliant support network around them.

'I guess so..' Persephone smiled back sweetly to her husband, her mind still on her freaky dream… if her baby was affecting that what else was it capable of doing.

'Somethin' botherin' ya my sweet?' Hades sounded after a short moment bringing Persephone out of her thoughts..

'It's nothing, really..' The white-skinned goddess sounded with a smile to her husband.

'Uh-huh, ok..' The tone of Hades' voice proved that he didn't believe her. '-I'm just gonna grab a quick shower then I'll meet'cha in the kitchen for breakfast and in the meantime, you can figure out just how much of this little _nudgekin_ of an issue ya wanna share with me, kay?' The fiery god then vanished along with his sweat-covered towel leaving Persephone sat by herself on the chessboard.. Persephone sighed heavily deciding not to argue with her husband them pulled herself off of the chessboard and headed down the hallway towards the kitchen.

* * *

As usual the Spring Celebrations were well underway by the time the subterranean family arrived in the Great Coliseum of Olympus. Hades let out a long groan of disappointment as he entered with his wife and daughter at either side.

'I know I say this every year..' The fiery god sounded in a jaded tone. '-but I friggin' hate spring, it's so depressin'..' Persephone entwined her dainty white fingers with her husbands long blue ones and squeezed his fingers affectionately.

'You only say that because you don't want me to leave for my surface duties..' The Goddess of Life sounded lightly.

'Do ya blame me?' Hades responded instantly, turning to his wife. 'Everybody else who's married gets to have their wife by them all the time but do I? _Nohhh_, I get mine _wrenched_ from my side to go and _frolic_ around on the surface for six months because _Bolt Boy _doesn't wanna upset the _'natural order of things'_…' The fiery god sounded this last part with a mocking upward inflection while air-quoting and pulling an unpleasant grimace to show his displeasure. Both his wife and daughter tittered affectionately at this.

'Your always so over-dramatic sweetie, at least my mother doesn't object to you visiting me..' Persephone sounded airily, trying to put a positive spin on things.

'Thank the Fates for small mercies.' Hades sighed as a small smirk curved his lips, things would be a lot more complicated if Demeter was less understanding of them. Melinoe had barely been listening to her parents, it was the same conversation every year.

'How come they never ask your opinion on the decorations for the Spring festivities?' The pale blue goddess suddenly piped up causing Persephone and Hades to turn to their daughter. 'I mean spring is _technically_ your season, right mom?'

'Because my mother doesn't like my taste in floral arraignments sweetie..' It was Persephone's turn to narrow her eyes in disdain. '-apparently my ideas for spring-time flora are far too 'dull' and 'depressing' to be displayed here on Olympus.' The Goddess of Life rolled her eyes wearily as her eyes travelled over the soft pastel colours mixed with deep cerise and sunshine yellow. It reminded her of the flowers she'd seen in that freaky dream she'd had earlier.

'Urh, one more strike for the conformist Olympian regime..' Melinoe sounded with a haughty sniff and edged further into the dark shadowy recess of dark pillar beside her father. Both Persephone and Hades made a light noise of bewilderment towards their eight year old daughter… all her time these days was spent with Hecate who was training her to do the 'nocturnal duties' she would one-day inherit from her, it seemed the witch's liberal-gothic opinions on Olympus were starting to rub off on their daughter.

'Hey..' Melinoe finally spoke again glancing around for her brother as if just noticing he wasn't there. '-how did Than get out of this anyway?'

'He didn't, your brother has some business to attend to first..' Persephone responded lightly, summoning her home-made perfume and spritzing herself casually before it vanished once more in a swirl of bright lights.

'_Urh_, friggin' Fates never made me busy durin' an Olympian celebration..' Hades rolled his golden eyes petulantly, it was clear who their new poster-boy deity was…

'Oh quit your kvetchin' sweetie..' Persephone waved a hand dismissively before pushing herself up on the balls of her black-heeled feet and kissed his cheek. 'Now you two stay right here, I'm gonna try and find mother to let her know we're here 'kay..'

'Take your time babe..' Hades drawled amiably before slouching further against the pillar, his eyes narrowing in his usual bored disdain as he gazed around the mass of gods enjoying the festivities. '-we'll be here all night.' Melinoe made an agreeable noise, her stance mirroring her father's and her green eyes were also narrowed looking just as listless..

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Heya peepz! I'm so sorry, the posting of this chap has been delayed as I've just become an auntie, my new niecey was born on the 21__st__ Feb and I've been kind of distracted by her because she's just so damn cute!~! X)_

_Anyway back to the notes, we've all had those dreams haven't we? The one's where everything just seems so wrong but you can put your finger on why you feel so unnerved by everything? Well Seph's dream at the start is kind of like that, except it's not her dream as the baby's newly-developing powers are twisting her senses… more on this in the next chapter as I want to keep you guessing on this kid as it's going to be completely different from it's elder sibs.._

_Ok, I know I keep going around in circles with the whole seasons but I'm trying to keep a continuous time-flow through out this fic, I feel it gives the story a sense of continuity and it flows better.._

_The idea for Hades putting on weight sort of came to me due to the mass of continuity-errors throughout the series in the drawing of Hades in his baggy chiton, there were so many scenes where it looked as though he had chubbed-up due to the way he was drawn… it wasn't very hard to imagine Hades putting on a few pounds and I imagine his vain sense of pride and pernickety nature would make him stay in shape (just how I imagine it anyway).._

_So what kind of business does Than have?_

_Stay tuned…._

_~Ditzy X_


	36. Being Death's a Bitch, Ain't it?

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**BubblyButtons2me: Awesome Review!~! X**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: Yeh, that would be my nightmare too! Whew… thank god it was justa dream eh? ;) ..Yup and there's more Melinoe in this chap too so you can compare some more… P.S. thank you X**_

_**DisneyPrincess: Well that's a relief! And glad you laughed because here's more Hades related weight-gain humour… and yup, the baby's powers are interesting aren't they? Lucky Than? Will you still think so after this chap…? O_O …x**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

* * *

_This chap goes out to my three most loyal reviewers since they were the only ones to review… Why? Because their awesome! That's why! Xx_

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Six:****Being Death's a Bitch, Ain't it?**

Thanatos frowned at the small figure of Zeus sitting on the chessboard before him. Slowly the godling lowered his flaming head so he now his glaring golden orbs were directly opposite the stone figure.

'How do I settle with you..' The fiery godling glowered impossibly harder at the figurine of his cloud-dwelling uncle. It wasn't a question… it was more of a rolling statement of frustration. Throughout the busy winter months Thanatos had been very busy slicing life-lines and trafficking souls.. but through it all the fiery godling's mind was a constantly ticking. Though his gaze remained sombre and silent his brain was constantly working on Zeus.. It was like an obsession. He now understood his father's _once_ long-held dream to overthrow his uncle… it was like a growing knot in his stomach that grew tighter and tighter the longer it was left. Like a long and slow, agonizing torture with no end in sight..

The son of Hades had managed to get out of joining his parents and little sister on Olympus for the Spring Celebrations by saying he had some important business to attend, though Persephone made him swear by the Styx he would at least make the effort to show up and say 'hi' to his grandma at some point. Thanatos had rolled his eyes at the thought of getting another smothering cuddle from Demeter but he reluctantly agreed just to please his mother..

'You don't..' A voice instantly responded from directly behind the fiery godling, causing him to straighten and swivel around to see Atropos grinning at him with her two sisters on either side of her. '-at least _not yet _you don't.' The Fate of the Inevitable finished her statement, still leering at the son of Hades.

'_What?_' Thanatos sounded completely bemused and flaring slightly irritated by this fact at the same time. Due to his own powerful gift of omniscience the God of Death-in-training was the only immortal being the Fates had chosen to mentor, allowing him to enter their inner-circle and learn the divine mysteries behind their Eye of Fate. It was a position that most other gods would have considered trading their immortality for.. Since the fiery godling had been rigidly schooled by these three old crones he knew each of them inside out and knew when they were holding back information from him. The young God of Death-in-training then folded his arms as his robe-covered foot tapped the stone floor in a steady irate rhythm, his golden eyes narrowed in a slightly jaded-yet-annoyed fashion. He didn't have to say a word, what his body language was saying was obvious to any being..

'Don't worry my dear child..' Lachesis said with a twisted smile.

'-you'll get your chance..' Clotho added soothingly before the Fate of the Inevitable hit her on the nose causing the Eye of Fate to pop out her eye socket. As Clotho rubbed her now sore nose Atropos pushed the squidgy eye into her empty socket and grinned widely at her protégé.

'I can guarantee it..' The tiny fate flashed a nasty leer up at the fiery godling who threw her a wicked smirk back. It vanished off into a heavy sigh as Thanatos' shoulders sagged wearily.

'Lemmie guess..' The fiery godling half-rolled his eyes with a jaded boyish smirk. '-this is the moment you tell me to quit my loafin' and get back to work, right?' He sounded in a dry-yet-ever-so-slightly-amused tone.

'Right..' All three Fates sounded together brightly.

'Yup. Just checkin'..' The fiery god responded with a snicker. '-I gotta get back on Suicide Watch anyway, losers get pretty depressed this time of year..' He then vanished out in a curl of black smoky darkness with a mock-salute.

'He's so impatient..' Clotho sounded after the Fates had been left to themselves in the throne room for a short while..

'He's just restless..' Lachesis added lightly to her sister and Atropos murmured in agreement.

'We'll speak to Hades about it when he gets back..' The eldest Fate smiled mysteriously..

* * *

'Persephone, sweetheart!' Demeter squealed out happily as she embraced her pregnant daughter warmly. 'Oh, _wow_… pregnancy really suits you this time..' She beamed taking in her daughter's radiant aura and youthful appearance, her six-month baby bump was a neat swell sitting proudly on the front of abdomen.

'Thanks mom, I have been feeling oddly perky lately..' Persephone beamed back widely, a hand stroking her bump..

'Oh good, maybe it'll show in your work this year..' Demeter sounded in a vague voice causing her daughter to scowl as her mother only beamed in the same dismissive-but-slightly-irritating fashion. 'Are the kids with Hades?' She suddenly asked lightly causing her Persephone to blink in shock.

'Mom, quit trying to dance around the subject..' Persephone sounded stiffly. '-what's wrong with my work?' The Goddess of Life frowned placing her hands on her hips and frowning at her mother.

'Oh pumpkin, don't get antsy or you'll upset the baby and that's not good..' Demeter only sounded knowledgeably, still dancing around the subject.

'Mom!' Persephone scowled deeper.

'Look, we've been over this a hundred times and you never listen dear, your flowers are either to pasty and drab or too dark and dreary. Spring is about bringing life and zest and Gaia knows that to do that you need a splash of colour here and there..' Demeter frowned at her daughter.

'I do add colour-' Persephone retorted hotly, about to add how subtle colour was more effective than bold and bright but she suddenly hiccupped and a glowing bubble issued from her mouth, it floated for a moment before bursting into miniature bright light orbs that vanished.

'What the-?' Persephone only managed to mumble before another hiccup came and yet another bubble popped out from her lips and burst.

'I told you not to upset the baby..' Demeter sounded in a smug little sing-song before disappearing off into the crowd to say hello to her son-in-law and grandchildren.

'_Rrrrrr_…' Persephone growled in frustration before, '-_hic!_' Another glowing bubble appeared and the goddess sighed, choosing to burst the bubble with her finger. She then silently cursed her mother before moving through the crowd of gods after the green-skinned goddess. She ignored the strange looks she got for hiccupping bright white bubbles along the way..

* * *

…Meanwhile at the back of the coliseum Hermes was with Hades and his daughter. Beside the Messenger God was a rose-skinned goddess with sky-blue eyes and multi-coloured hair which caused the aura to glow with a rainbow of colours.

'_Whoa_..' Hades blinked at this goddess, who must have been around fifteen. '-Hermes, what's with the kaleidoscope-kid? She's a bit young for you ain't she?' The fiery god kinked an eyebrow while leering in an expression of mock-jest.

'Eh-heh-heh..' Hermes mock-laughed in amusement back. '-look who's talking..' The tiny blue Messenger God then smiled widely at the fiery god before gesturing to the girl beside him. 'Hades, I'm sure you _vaguely_ remember Iris, youngest daughter of Zeus and Hera..' Hermes then turned to Iris who had beamed widely. '-and Iris, I don't believe you've actually met your cousin Melinoe before have you?' He added conversationally causing the rose goddess' bright blue eyes to turn to her gloomy cousin who actually looked less than impressed with her.

'Hi there..' Melinoe sounded in a dull voice with a half-hearted wave. '-my friends call me Mel, at least they would if I had any, but since I _don't_, you can just call me Melinoe..' She reeled off in a quick dismissive manner and turning her green eyes away again, clearly not interested in socializing with her cousin any more than she had to. Iris let out a light girlish giggle which tumbled like a waterfall of laughter at her cousin's words..

'Oh you, your so funny!' Iris tittered amused causing Melinoe to frown at her.

'And your _annoyingly_ perky..' She sighed in an exasperated tone. The next second Iris' rose-tinted arm extended around Melinoe's shoulders and she pulled the blue-skinned gloomy goddess into an incredibly tight hug causing her to wince..

'I hope we can become really good friends..' She sounded in an upbeat tone as her incredibly white teeth flashed into a dazzling smile.

'_Urh_, I think I would rather contract Proserpina Plague and lock myself in Tartarus before that ever happens..' Melinoe grumbled irritably while trying and failing to pry herself out of perky Iris' grip.

While the cousins were having this exchange Hades and Hermes had been talking.

'Oh _yeh_..' Hades had drawled, vaguely remembering Iris as a baby, Bolt Boy had taken one look at his daughter's multi-coloured hair and decided that she would oversee rainbows since her hair reminded him of one. 'So what're ya doin' with her now?'

'Zeus wants me to train Iris up to become a second Messenger to the Gods, the big guy thinks I could do with the help, apparently I'm not around as often as he'd like..'

'Translation: he thinks your spendin' too much time in the Underworld.' Hades sounded with a slight smirk, he knew Zeus far too well.

'Yup. That was my conclusion too.' Hermes sighed wearily. 'But I shouldn't complain..' Hermes instantly snapped out of his funk and grinned widely. '-I always said I wanted a P.A. right?'

'Indeed ya have..' Hades nodded in agreement, remembering a few times Hermes had complained about there being too many errands for one god to handle.

'Hey, have you put on a little weight by any chance?' Hermes suddenly asked as he took in Hades' appearance, he did seem a little chubbier than usual. The fiery god instantly flared a nasty orange colour while his white hot flames seared down his shoulders, causing Hermes to flutter backwards with his arms up. 'Yeesh, no need to flare off the handle… was just asking..' The blue Messenger God uttered in a soft voice looking worried.

At this point Demeter arrived and smiled widely at the small group, clearly pleased to see that her family could socialize when they wanted to.

'Are we making friends with Iris, Melinoe?' Demeter trilled amiably to her granddaughter who threw her grandmother a filthy look but Iris beamed widely.

'Oh yes Aunt Demeter, we're becoming fast friends..' The rainbow-haired goddess sounded in such a chirpy voice that it made Melinoe want to heave. _Not even Psyche was this perky!_

'Oh that's wonderful!' Demeter clasped her hands together adoringly. 'I've always said you should put more effort into making friends Melinoe, and stop hiding that pretty face behind all that hair.' Demeter swooped forward and tucked Melinoe's bright blue hair behind her ears revealing her prominent cheekbones. Melinoe glared impossibly harder before managing to wrench herself free from Iris' grip then shook her blue hair loose from the confinements of being behind her ears. Thankfully her grandmother had now moved onto her father.

'Hades, I don't want to sound insensitive but you do seem to have..' Demeter bit her lip timidly before adding, '-filled out a little bit.' The fiery god blinked before running his eyes over Demeter's body, if anyone had _filled_ _out_ over the centuries it was her.

At this moment Persephone appeared out of the crowd and rolled her green eyes at her mother, who was obviously trying to be tactful to her husband about his weight gain, which was more obvious in the daylight than the dim Underworld light.

'Excuse me?' The fiery god sounded in a low voice, trying to mask his irritation.

'I wasn't trying to be rude dear it's just you do seem a bit fuller in the face, not that that's a bad thing.' She added trying to dig herself out of the hole she'd made. Hades narrowed his eyes at his mother-in-law, he considered pointing out her apple-shaped figure before changing his mind. He wasn't going to be that insensitive to his wife's mother who had become a surprisingly useful ally to have when dealing with Zeus..

'Yeh, I know, so I've put on a little weight over the last year, get over it, boom. I'm dealin' with it, 'kay? Got the weight set out this mornin'..' The fiery god reeled off amiable-yet-slightly-defensive tone... why did everybody have to point out his tiny iota of a 'weight issue' as if it was big news? His mother-in-law only smiled completely oblivious to his irritation, just like always..

'Well at least your doing something about it, that's the main thing.' Demeter sounded satisfied by this explanation.

Persephone suddenly let out a loud hiccup causing the group to instantly turn to her. Everyone besides Demeter looked amazed by the white glowing bubble that issued from her mouth and burst into tiny orbs.

'What in Tartarus was that?' Hades asked bemused as Melinoe just stared dumbfounded by this new power development.

'This..' Persephone pointed to her mouth. '-is the new _'hic'_ parlour trick our darling little baby has decided to play.' She sounded wearily before hiccupping again and yet another bubble issued forth.

'The baby's just upset sweetheart..' Demeter sounded lightly. 'It'll pass. I used to hiccup butterflies when you were in the womb..'

'Really?' Persephone blinked in amazement before shivering and adding, 'I think I prefer the bubbles..'

'It's wasn't as icky as it sounds pumpkin..' Demeter chuckled good-naturedly at her daughter's grimace. 'Now where is Thanatos?' She asked but before anybody could answer her a disembodied voice did.

'I'm right here..' The next second there was a curl of smoky darkness and Thanatos appeared. The fiery eleven year old grinned widely at his family as they all gawped in shock at his appearance, it wasn't his sudden arrival that had stunned them but the fact that he was caked from head to toe in blood and what could only be described as bits of mortal-inners.

'Oh good Gaia child, what are you covered in?' Demeter's chubby green hands clasped her face in shock. Hermes kinked a brow at his protégé and smirked widely.

'My best guess would be the deceased remains of a mortal who decided to go take a running jump.. quite literally.' The tiny blue god sounded dryly.

'Oh Than, you couldn't even change before you came up here?' Persephone wrinkled her nose in distaste and moved away from her son as the sight of his blood-soaked robes was making her want to vomit… which was strange as she usually didn't care as she was used to cleaning Thanatos' disgusting robes..

'I could've..' Thanatos responded with airy indifference as he casually inspected his nails which were blood-free. '-but then I realised that if I didn't Uncle Zeus would avoid me like a mortal with the plague which is a massive plus point..' At these words both Hades and Hermes instantly snickered in amusement but Demeter lanced them a stern glare and they silenced quickly as she turned to back to her grandson.

'Well you look like a bloody disgrace..' She sniffed in a haughty fashion. 'How on Gaia's surface did you ever get into such a state?' She folded her large arms across her massive bosom.

'Suicide Watch, they don't call it Lover's Leap for nothin' y'know-' The God of Death-in-training the leant into his grandmother causing her to grimace. '-by the way, word of advice: don't be waitin' at the bottom for them to land..' He then straightened smirking and pulling his blood-soak robe. '-I just learnt that the hard way..'

'_Ewww_…' Iris squealed out in disgust, looking revolted by her cousin. '-you are such a sick, twisted _creep_.' Melinoe on the other hand smiled widely at the goddess with multi-coloured hair… sometimes it paid to be the sister of Death..

'Admit it candy-chiton, that's what'cha love about me..' Thanatos sounded lazily, throwing his rose-tinted cousin the kind of lecherous smirk his father would be proud of.. In fact Hades laughed affectionately at it, at least he did until his wife elbowed him in the ribs with a smirk of her own.

'Thanatos that's enough..' Demeter sounded sharply making her grandson wince, her stern gaze was on him again, she never missed a trick.

'Well Iris, we best push on, we got a lot to do before this party is over..' Hermes sounded casually checking his sundial. Iris beamed at him gratefully, glad to have an excuse to get away from the eldest child of Hades, however this did not stop her from turning and smiling at Melinoe..

'I'll see you around..' The rainbow-haired goddess' white feathery sandals fluttered lifting her up in the air as her multi-tonal hair swirled loosely.

'Not if I see you first you won't..' Melinoe uttered under her breath making no attempt to be polite. Then as Hermes disappeared in a neon blue blur Iris followed in a blur of rainbow colours leaving a light trail of colour in her wake.

Only moments after they had gone a faint buzzing issued from Hades' black chiton pocket.

'Oy vey..' Hades groaned digging his blue fingers into the pocket and pulling out his pager. '-this can't be good.' He flicked his fingers over the buttons causing the message to appear. His face dropped instantly as his eyes scanned the message before a scowl fixed his face.

'Oh great, now whadda they want?' He sneered before flaring a slightly ticked off yellow and stuffing his pager back in his pocket moodily.

'What does who want?' Persephone threw her husband a confused look.

'The Fates wanna meet with me as soon as we get back.' Hades responded huffily.

'They do?' Demeter, who had a spit-covered handkerchief and was rubbing Thanatos' blood-caked face vigorously while her grandson squirmed uncomfortably, paused and stared at her son-in-law. Taking advantage of his grandmother's distraction the fiery godling instantly vanished out in a puff of black smoky darkness… he'd rather just have an _actual_ bath than one of his granny's 'spit-baths'.

'Well in that case you better go see what they want..' Persephone responded lightly, pushing herself up on her toes and kissing his cheek.

'I suppose so..' Hades exhaled deeply, seeing his creepy older sisters was always such a _chore_.. 'So Mel, ya wanna stick around with your mother for a bit or do ya wanna come back with me now?' The fiery god asked his blue-skinned daughter conversationally.

'You seriously have to ask?' Melinoe responded with disbelief.

'Heh, that's what I thought..' Hades' smirk widened at his daughter's face which clearly said that anything other than going home right now would be a living torture. '-see ya later ladies..' He added to his wife and mother-in-law, since they were obligated to stay a little while longer on the surface to start off the lesser Mysteries of Eleusis.

'Bye Mom, bye Gran..' Melinoe smiled sweetly, gripping her father's considerably larger blue hand and the two of them vanished in a curl of black smoke.

* * *

'Uh-huh, yeh, ya might wanna try runnin' that by me one more time dad, ya want me to do- _What?~!_' Thanatos' golden quiff flared brightly as his golden eyes widened in shock. He'd come out of his bath squeaky clean, leaving his bloodied-dirty robes in a trail across the bedroom floor rather than the dirty washing basket where they should've been… he'd then appeared in throne room, coincidently right after the Fates had left, to find his father grinning widely and declaring that he was going to be introduced to another part of being God of Death. At first Thanatos was excited to discover that he was going to be learning another aspect of his position… at least he was until he found himself somewhere in the Asphodel Fields with his blue-flamed father holding a clipboard and surrounded by dozens of the undead residents..

Hades only smirked at Thanatos' mini-explosion, his grin widened considerably at the look of indignation on his eleven year old son's face.. he had heard him, he wouldn't be pulling that face if he hadn't.

'Consider it character buildin'..' The fiery Lord of the Dead sounded lightly with the unmistakeable undertones of smug amusement as Thanatos' flames quivered violently and creeped down to his shoulders..

'But I _hate_ the undead…' The fiery godling whinged childishly as he flung the clipboard down in the dirt of the stone Underworld floor huffily, then folded his arms glaring mutinously back at his father.

'Yeh? Well that's too bad brat cause now you hold dominion over 'em, which means they're _your_ responsibility..' Hades couldn't help but let out a badly repressed snigger of amusement which caused his son to glare harder at him, still reluctant to actually go and deal with the undead souls.

'Your only giving me this stupid job because you don't want it!' Thanatos retorted hotly his skin burning off as he flared more violently leaving behind a really pissed off flaming skeleton. That wiped the smile off of Hades' face and caused his laughter to die almost as quickly as it had started, the fiery god then pouted moodily and placed his hands on his hips.

'Hey! That's a _half_ truth..' He sounded feigning offence before sighing heavily and deciding to explain this to his son in better detail, '-the only reason I got landed with these guys in the first place is because they don't have a pulse which _technically_ means they're no longer part of the living.. but as you can clearly see-' The fiery god gestured to the nearest bunch of zombies who were aimlessly wandering around with blank looks and groaning vaguely at random intervals. '-they ain't dead either, 'kay? Which means they ain't really my problem as I only deal with the dead and since you sit on the line between the living and the dead that means that they now belong to you, so suck it up and get out there and deal with your minions like a good little Ruler of the Undead should.' Thanatos frowned but could not argue with his father's logic. So instead the fiery youth snapped his bony fingers causing the clipboard to jump off the ground and back into his hand before he swivelled around sharply on his hip and stomped off moodily in the direction of the wandering undead. He grumbled vaguely in irritation while cursing his father lightly for giving him such a tedious job before he sighed then returned to his normal form out of a curl of black smoke.

'Ya might wanna consider _cataloguing_ 'em first..' Hades yelled out after letting his son get a good distance away. Thanatos only flipped his father the bird and carried on walking in response..

The Lord of the Dead only snickered at this before shaking his head in amusement before vanishing out in a curl of smoke…

* * *

The golden-flamed son of Hades continued to trudge moodily over the dark stone subterranean ground where asphodels had sprung up through the cracks in the ground. Thanatos' narrowed eyes and blank expression masked the seething boil of anger that bubbled inside him. Wandering vaguely through the Asphodel Fields and trying to track down a bunch of useless moaning undead corpses who were constantly losing limbs was not what Thanatos envisioned himself doing when he'd learnt he was getting more responsibilities.

…_Stupid undead zombie idiots… can't even keep track of their stupid falling limbs… now I have to baby-sit these friggin' things for the rest of eternity.. _Thanatos' mental moaning was cut short as something snared his right robe covered ankle.

'_Yaahh!~!_' The fiery godling instinctively jumped up in alarm, lifting his foot into the air for inspection. Clamping onto him was a putrid greyish-blue hand with a few missing nails.

'Oh, _oh_.. _Ewwwwwwww!~!_' Thanatos pulled a horrified grimace, hopping around on one foot comically as he pried the hand off of his ankle. His grimace widened as his nostrils flared with disgust as he held the hand at arms length which was as far away from him as he could get before turning to the group of undead corpses glaring at them.

'_Oi! Brain-dead morons!_' Thanatos bellowed furiously at them causing the zombies to all swivel their heads sluggishly around towards him in amazement.

'Urhhhhh..'

'Uhhh..'

'Rrrrhhh…'

Thanatos' scowl melted into narrowed-eyed tedium as he found himself under the blank stares of the undead who looked as if they'd never seen a god before.

'_Any of you losers loose a hand?_' The fiery god snapped moodily brandishing the limb in front of them..

The undead souls only stared blankly at him, rocking vaguely from side-to-side..

Thanatos' scowl returned and the fiery god slapped his forehead with frustration.

'_Helloooo? Are you listening to me.. I ask, you answer, that's how this works..' _Thanatos snarled angrily, his flames slowly creeping down his shoulders in irritation. This wasn't character building, this was soul destroying… well it would be if he had a soul..

Undead only stare at him stupidly.

'_C'mon people… let's get with the program, let's not make this any harder than it already is, ok?_' Thanatos sounded in a loud irritable voice, shaking the hand more insistently before his eyes found a trio of one-handed undead and called out in an irate sing-song voice. 'You three by the river of Lethe I'm looking in your direction..'

Thanatos paused.

The undead souls only stared for a further moment before some of them groaned vaguely then started ambling clumsily of with only the vaguest sense of direction.. The group slowly dispersed leaving Thanatos standing holding the lost limb looking furious.

'Fine, ba-boom..' Thanatos threw the hand full force to the ground. '-if you don't care about it then _neither do I_..' The fiery god then pulled his clipboard and stalked off sullenly..

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey Peeps, I'm sure we all know how this chapter title came about so I don't need to explain that… though I did have a good laugh at it! XP_

_Ok, in myth Iris was not Zeus and Hera's daughter she was the daughter of Electra who was actually a cloud-nymph rather than an emo goth-kid with a 'fury problem' and I couldn't picture her as the mother of bright and beautiful Goddess of Rainbows. So I chose for her to be the daughter of the God of Sky and Rain Zeus as this made more sense to me. Iris design is in fact based losely on the Iris in 'Fantasia' because I liked her design.._

_Stay tuned for more soon…_

_~Ditzy X_


	37. A 'Blessed' Little Bundle

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**BubblyButtons2me: Thanks hun! X**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: Haha, me too! I hate being sick! X**_

_**DisneyPrincess: Yes, that line was based on Meg's line from the film. And Hades was always kind of touchy and oversensitive about ridiculous things in the film and series, I don't see how his weight would be treated any differently.**_

_**MangoKat: Oh wow! Now I feel really honoured to get a review, I'm glad you like the story… and thank you, you have no idea how hard it is trying to figure out characters personalities and making it so they don't clash with others, especially since I don't actually have any notes on them. I've tried to keep Hermes as close to what he was in the film and series because I absolutely love Paul Shafer and he played him brilliantly, the idea of Hermes not knowing who his father was came from the myth because Maia did not get punished for having Hermes like so my other of Zeus' mistress' did, and also because in my fic she's too ashamed of what happened to tell her son the truth. I do think if he found out the truth it would seriously mess with his head though, how would you feel if it was you? The idea of a ficlet about Hermes' origins is an interesting concept, mostly because I would also be writing about Leuce and Hades in it since they were a couple around the time of Hermes' birth and I've not done any writing on Hades' ex, she of course being Maia's best friend as stated in chapter 8... Glad your enjoying the fic and hope this isn't the only time I here from you! x**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Thirty-Seven:****A 'Blessed' Little Bundle..**

As spring rolled into summer Persephone was convinced that her unborn baby was slowly trying to somehow turn her into a complete pacifist. She'd barely argued with her mother over spring themes which was unusual, normally the two nature goddesses would argue relentlessly for the first few weeks of spring because they were both thought they were right and were too stubborn to back down.. But this year, Persephone found herself going along with her mother's words just to keep the peace.. She also found herself getting freaked out by mundane Underworld activities such as 'minion torture' or Cerberus chasing after undead souls… even one of her husband's temperamental fiery explosions made her jump and she'd start hiccupping bubbles! She'd never been bothered by these kind of things before so why did they bother her now? Persephone had even caught herself smiling girlishly at her husband's usual complaining and uttering thoughtlessly, 'Well look on the bright side-'..

…_She would never utter those words!~!_

But perhaps what was most disconcerting of all was the fact that her 'bad' dreams had somehow morphed from those hero-in-silver-chiton dreams to a fresh new Tartarian nightmare… everyone in her dreams had started singing about their feelings.. even _Hades! _It was like some scary Orphian musical..

Persephone was starting to get really weirded out by her baby's influence…

The blonde Goddess of Life sighed heavily as she sat comfortably on the soft pine-wood floor of her childhood bedroom in her mother's thatch-roof farmhouse on Sicily. With it being summer now her due date was closing in fast and it was only now the heavily pregnant goddess had began to muse over baby chitons for the new arrival. She was sat with a box filled with Melinoe's and Thanatos' old baby things and a box of her own baby things that her mother kept for sentimental reasons. Despite the fact that the new arrival was going to be Underworld born and raised just like her first two children Persephone just couldn't settle on clothes for the new baby inside her. She kept finding herself studying the dark traditional Underworld colours and thinking that it just wouldn't suit the budding personality of their baby. Judging by the flowers she had grown this spring the baby really liked bright colours… but nobody wore bright colours in the Underworld, it just wasn't done. Their baby would stick out, just like they did with their dark chitons when visiting Olympus..

Persephone bit her bottom lip as she mused over this clothing conundrum before an idea hit her… perhaps she could mix and match outfits. Rifling through her own baby clothes the Goddess of Life finally pulled out a little set of pink and yellow stockings from her box, swivelling around to her kid's box of baby things and scooping up one of Melinoe's little black dresses. She then picked up a set of closed-toe black girl sandals and laid the outfit out neatly on the floor before leaning back and cocking her head to the side studying it thoughtfully.

_This could work…_

The Queen of the Underworld then frowned at the little silver skull pins before pulling them off the outfit then rooting around her own box and pulling out a couple of pink flower pins and smiling at their colour against the little black chiton. Perhaps she would ask Hades to make little set of pink skull pins for their baby…

Smiling to herself, finally pleased she was getting somewhere, Persephone continued rooting for clothes of a similar colour scheme in amongst the baby clothes she had.

* * *

Down below the surface things were much more subdued. The workload was considerably lighter during the spring as the lovey-dovey spring season meant that the death-rate was low, the only souls coming in these days were the usual small trickle of souls dying from natural causes or depressed loveless losers that Thanatos had 'convinced' to commit suicide. But as the season slowly moved onwards the 'summer slump' was officially in effect and the God of Death-in-training was officially out of business. With nothing to do but baby-sit a bunch of brain-dead zombies Thanatos found himself drawn back to the chessboard in the throne room, mulling over everything he knew about his cloud-dwelling uncle while fixing a stern narrow-eyed glare at the innocent figure of Zeus..

Completely oblivious to his son's scheming Hades hummed an upbeat tune as he moved the little black baby-crib into place. The fiery god was pleased that he and his wife had agreed to stop having kids once this little 'sunspot' was born. The private quarters inside the House of Hades could not house any more children, they were using their last guest bedroom for the new baby. The fiery god smirked widely as he looked around the newly finished nursery with pride. Due to the Underworld Audits and intense fitness workouts the fiery god had kept putting the baby nursery off. However, now that his paperwork was up-to-date and his waistline and muscles were almost back to the way they'd been before he'd stopped exercising properly and instead chosen to focus on training his kids. He had no more excuses as summer was well underway and the baby's due-date was around mid-summer. Still, thanks to putting all of Melinoe's and Thanatos' old baby things in storage the fiery god only really had to prime and paint the room before moving all the baby furniture in while his wife mulled over baby things to fill it with on the surface.

The interior of the room had been difficult to come up with for this baby, his first two children had both displayed clear subterranean powers and tendencies from inside the womb… this baby however did not. If anything this kid took after Persephone's side of the family in the power department, like it's mother the baby's powers seemed to be all about life and light and these were not traits of a typical subterranean deity. So when it came to what colour to paint the room Hades was at a loss, the only thing that he and his wife could agree on about this baby was that with this amount of pacifistic leanings it had to be a girl..

..if it wasn't, then it was getting mortalized and dumped on the doorstep of the first mortal the imps could find.

In the end the fiery god settled on a natural deep rocky grey that was almost black for the room before etching out some swirling designs in the corners, snapping his fingers and causing the etching to fill with colours to make it stand out against the almost black wall. The coiling decorative swirls became golden and the carved flowers were pink in colour with green swirling stems. The candelabra above on the ceiling was done in his usual pointy swirly design but the candle-holders themselves were pink crystal lily-flowers with green crystal leaves which sent colour around the room while the candles were burning.. The black skeletal rocking chair even had a red cushion in it. The room was fit for a royal pacifistic subterranean odd-ball, which was _clearly_ what this baby was going to be.

Hades smirked proudly around the newly decorated nursery, pleased at how well the bedroom had turned out… his wife had asked him to inject 'an itty-bitty bit of colour for their little sunspot' and as usual her man had delivered, she was going to be thrilled when she saw it.

'_Hades..' _A disembodied but very familiar voice sounded from the surface and the fiery Lord of the Dead's golden eyes narrowed with pleasure.. His little wifeykins was calling for him..

..Appearing directly into the tiny childhood bedroom of his wife the fiery god flashed Persephone a wide-fanged grin as he materialized out of a curl of smoke. The heavily pregnant goddess beamed widely at her husband as her aura radiated brightly around her… Hades had to admit that his wife had never looked better pregnant, he was almost beginning to regret this being their last child together… _almost_.

'Is the nursery finished?' Persephone asked brightly as a mixture of love and excitement flashed in her wide green eyes.

'Sure is Sephykins..' The fiery god sounded lightly, pretending to check his nails as he continued grinning at his wife. '-just put the last piece of furniture in, your gonna love it my sweet.' His eyes then wandered to the box of clothes and toys she'd picked out for the new baby. 'So ya finished sortin' out the baby knick-knacks I take it?'

'Uh-huh..' Persephone nodded eagerly as she picked up the box that had been sat on her little bed. '-got everythin' right here sweetie..' She then rolled her eyes ruefully adding amiably, '-seriously, why did we ever keep all this baby stuff?'

'Oh I dunno sugar..' Hades sounded with a vague yet over the top shrug of the shoulders complete with mock-serious smirk. '-probably on the off chance that we decided to have another kid, and _hey_, look what happened..' He then immediately took the box of baby things off of his wife adding, '-here, gimmie that, don't want ya over-doin' it now do we?'

'Hades, I can carry a box, I'm just pregnant y'know..' The white-skinned Goddess of Life sounded with amusement and a slight edge of annoyance, it had always irritated her when she was treated differently for having a big baby bump.

'Really?' Hades sounded with mock-surprise and a playful glint in his round yellow eyes. 'And here I was wonderin' why I've just spent my weekend fixing up a baby room when we've only got a couple of moody preteen gods at home?' Persephone giggled despite herself and Hades' eyes narrowed with pleasure at it before he drawled amiably, '_Baabe_, I wasn't around for ya when you were knocked up with Melinoe, I missed out on a _lot_, ok? So I promised myself I was not gonna miss out on a single thing with this kid-' The fiery god then pushed his face directly into his wife's at this point with a huge roguish smirk and a set of heavy-lidded eyes. '-and that includes the fussin' over ya, capeesh?'

'Alright, alright..' Persephone groaned despairingly with a slight shake of her blonde head. '-carry the stupid box if it means that much to you.' She rolled her green eyes jadedly in a manner her eleven year old son would usually do it but smirked despite herself and linked arms with her doting husband's free arm. She really didn't have any arguments with her husband wanting to fuss over her, secretly she was enjoying all the attention he was lavishing on her but she'd never tell him that. The fiery Lord of the Dead was clearly still feeling guilty for not being there for her during her pregnancy with Melinoe and Persephone also knew that he felt a deep sense of remorse for missing her birth too. So this time around Hades had made it his mission to be there for his pregnant wife, this was relatively easy as spring and summer were lax in business… the fiery god even spent many lazy summer afternoons with Persephone just lazing around Sicily. This pleased Demeter because it meant she didn't have to worry about her daughter knowing he was there and she could concentrate on getting the crops and fruits ready for the summer harvests.

'Hmm, ya think a goddess could just be grateful..' Hades responded to her sass while rolling his eyes innocently upwards and Persephone nudged him playfully.

'Are you gonna show me this nursery or not?' She added lightly, fluttering her eyelashes at him with a girly smile she knew he wouldn't resist.

'Well, if I must my sweet..' Hades mock-sighed pretending to be a put upon martyr before it quickly vanished into a devious smirk as his wife giggled girlishly at him. '-your just lucky your married to me babe, if you were anybody else-'

'Yeh, yeh, yeh… you'd give me a royal flaming, I know.' Persephone smiled lightly causing her husband to chuckle and wrap an arm around her swollen waist.

'Heh, ya know me too well sugar..' He drawled into her ear before kissing her forehead and curling her right up against him as they vanished in a swirl of smoke..

..Persephone gasped out loud as her eyes flashed with both emotion and delight at the beautiful room her husband had created for their unborn baby. At her noise of happiness the fiery god's eyes narrowed and his smirked widened with pleasure.

'_Ohh_, it's perfect..' She cooed softly finally turning her eyes to her husband, the tears of joy had already started welling up.

'Ya think our little sunspot will like it?' Hades crooned softly, bending slightly so his soft words went straight into her ear.

'She'll love it!' Persephone beamed widely then turned herself around to her husband pushing herself up on the balls of her feet and kissing his lips fervently, wrapping her arms around his neck as she did. Pulling away only slightly so they were just inches apart. 'You never fail to surprise me sweetie..' She breathed softly smiling lightly at him and he smirked back widely..

* * *

As Persephone's due date came and went and the goddess had only experienced a couple of false contractions. It seemed like this little baby was determined to make it's parents wait. As the days slowly rolled by the expectant parents grew more and more anxious, Thanatos had appeared on his due date and Melinoe had arrived a week early. Neither Hecate nor Demeter were worried as both goddesses said the baby would arrive when it was ready to come out… The Goddess of Life, who was exhausted at this point just couldn't wait for the baby to be out of her..

Then finally, one week after her due date had passed it was the peak of summer, the longest day in the year when Persephone's waters finally broke. The pregnant goddess had been relaxing under her favourite willow tree in her own private grove on Sicily when the sensation of water flooding the mossy ground where she was sat, the white-skinned goddess barely had time to register that her waters had broken before the shooting pin of her first contraction ripped through her. Her cry of shock and anguish had roused her snoozing husband from the nap he'd been taking, reacting instinctively the fiery god swept his wife up and whisked her off to the privacy of there throne room… there was no way in Tartarus he was letting his last-born kid be born on the surface with nosy Olympian gods eavesdropping on them.

While the Sirens got their mistress dressed in her maternity chiton and settled on the chessboard, the imps left to inform Hecate who would be delivering the new baby. Demeter arrived in the Underworld moments later, she had heard her daughter's cries, felt a lurch in her chest and abandoned her duties in favour of a daughter who needed her. The first thing the green-skinned Goddess of Nature did was send both Thanatos and Melinoe off to Nyx and Erebus' house on the lower east-side of the Underworld with the promise of summoning them back when their little sibling was born.

After what seemed like an age Hecate appeared out of a swirl of blue light smiling widely, unseen to any of the four gods in the room both imps had reappeared out of shimmers of pink and green then quietly taken up their usual hiding place behind the large stone throne. The three identical Sirens immediately backed away from their mistress and began setting out the indigo swaddling blanket and bowl warm water to wash down the newborn baby. Hecate examined Persephone for a moment before straightening.

'I'm afraid it's going to be a while Persephone, your only a few centimetres dilated.'

'_Ohhh_…' The white-skinned goddess groaned despairingly and collapsed into the chest of her husband who wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed her forehead lightly. Despite her discomfort at that moment Persephone's fingers clutched her husband's arm and smiled grateful to his comforting actions…

* * *

'Push Persephone, just one last push left..' Hecate sounded as her arms held the newborn around the shoulders.

'You can do it pumpkin..' Demeter sounded gently from Persephone's left side as her husband rubbed her shoulders lightly before sweeping a stray lock of hair out of her sweaty face. The white-skinned goddess was completely exhausted and nestled herself further into her husband's torso, she was completely beat but she knew that she had just enough strength for this. With one last sigh the Queen of the Underworld straightened and pushed..

'_Arrrrrhhhh!~!_'

As baby cries filled the room Persephone slumped back into her husband and the fiery god wrapped his arms round her, kissing her sweetly on the lips.

'Great job my sweet..' The fiery god sounded tenderly as his eyes narrowed.

'It's a girl..' Hecate declared brightly, cutting the umbilical cord and wrapping the baby in the indigo swaddling cloth.

'It is..' Demeter sounded brightly, clasping her hands together looking tearful. '-oh, let me see, I have to go and resume my summer duties.' The green-skinned goddess then got up and moved around the chessboard to look at her grandchild. The little baby in Hecate's arms had pearly white skin and a small curl of blonde hair, her eyes were closed at the moment.

'Uh, she's a darling..' Demeter cooed as she gazed lovingly at her newest granddaughter. '-she looks just like you when you were- _Oh!_'

Both Hades' and Persephone's eyes widened in shock at her mother's cry of shock, unbeknown to them the baby had opened it's eyes at the sound of her grandmother's voice and it this that had caused the shock.

'Oh my..' Hecate murmured looking surprised by the baby's eyes too. '-this is unusual.'

'Excuuse me..' Hades' blunt yet irate tone sounded towards the two goddesses who returned to reality as though dosed with cold water. '-either tell us what's wrong with the kid or hand it over and not get flamed, your choice.' The fiery god's brows contracted in a manner which meant he was deadly serious as Persephone looked on worried.

'Go on..' Demeter sounded lightly to Hecate with a smile. '-let them see her.' The Goddess of Witchcraft then carefully moved closer to Persephone and passed over the brand new infant baby who's eyes had closed once more.

As if somehow dreading to see a deformity on their newly born daughter both Persephone and Hades looked gingerly down at their child. She had soft marble white skin with a curl of blonde hair, she had a button nose and small almond-shaped eyes that were shut. There were ten fingers and ten toes and her little aura glowed a bright healthy star white… she was perfect in every way.

'I don't see anything wrong with her.' Hades stated grimly as his yellow eyes turned to the two goddesses in front of them. At her father's voice the little girl in Persephone's arms opened her eyes again causing her mother to blink in shock.

'Oh!' Persephone gasped, a small smile curved her cherry lips as she gazed at her daughter's eyes. His wife's intake of breath made Hades swivel his eyes to his daughter and he too gasped in surprise..

..the little goddess in Persephone's arms blinked up at her fiery daddy through her mismatched eyes. The left one was bright green in colour while the right eyes was bright yellow. As her parents stared down at her, trying to absorb what they were seeing the little baby only smiled widely back, clearly pleased by all the attention she was getting.

'Wow, that really is different..' Hades murmured as he took in his daughter's mismatched eyes.

'She's beautiful!' Persephone sounded as love for this odd-eyed child and lifted the baby higher up so she could cradle her to her face, nuzzling the new born.

'She sure is baby..' Hades crooned softly as the little baby touched it's mother's face then smiled amiably as Persephone lowered her and passed her to her father. For a moment nothing was said as the little baby had them all bewitched by her innocent beauty.

'Hey Seph, did we ever think of a name for this kid?' Hades' fiery head suddenly snapped around to his wife when he realised that he had actually no clue what they were going to name this baby.

'Oh you have got to be kidding me..' Hecate sounded dryly, slapping her head in disbelief at this… trust them not to think of a name for this baby.

'Well, when I was a little girl growing up on Sicily I always dreamed of the day I'd get a little girl like me, I even had a name picked out for her and everything..' Persephone sounded lightly.

'Uh-huh and what was the name?' Hades sounded curious but cautiously at the same time, he dreaded to think what kind of fruity name his wife would've picked back then.

'Macaria..' Persephone sounded with a small smile and Hades' eyes rolled upwards as he stroked his chin thoughtfully, mulling over the name..

..as his eyes turned back to their new-born daughter a wide smirk curved his lips. _'Blessed'… well the name would certainly suit her._

'Alright babe, Macaria it is..'

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Ok peeps, the next chapter will be jumping ahead a couple of years now, I don't really want to write about Macaria's milestones because I did both Thanatos and Melinoe and quite frankly I'm sick of baby writing. In the next chapter she'll be two years old so brace yourselves for toddler Maca!_

_Also big heads up to Hercules and Meg fans, the couple are returning after a whole sixty odd chapter absence so look out for them in a chapter soon!_

_Stay tuned!_

_~Ditzy X_


	38. The Deal that Started It All

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**BubblyButtons2me: Well she's about to get a whole lot cuter now! X**_

_**BlackDiamond07: LoL, you've been gone so long my computer didn't even recognise your tag hun! Anyway, I saw an ad for Hunger Games today and it actually does look good, I don't blame you for not reviewing so your forgiven… and yeh, now that the last-born is out this story can actually move on to the main storyline! I'm so excited! X**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: Well this chapter should give you a pretty good idea about how much she sticks out. But yeh, she's really cute X**_

_**DisneyPrincess: Really, I always considered singing dreams a personal hell… besides the whole singing how you feel bit was just a crack at Disney films in general because they all have it! And glad you like Maca's mismatched eyes, when this happens in real life it's because both eye colours were dominant genes so the eyes form different colour irises (usually brown and blue), if it's rare amongst humans think how much rarer it must be in gods! x**_

_**MissSkulduggeryPleasant: Aww, so glad you like her, she's a real sweetheart isn't she? And your on the right lines with Thanatos, I can't reveal too much at the minute but his plans are actually a little more sinister than a simple takeover scheme… but I agree with what you say, it really is a case of like father, like son.. X**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Thirty-Eight:****The Deal that Started it All..**

Little Macaria blinked at the two imps who were stood nervously in front of her before glancing back to her father who was stood behind her with a slight frown etched across his face.

'Go on Maca..' Hades prompted her, folding his arms tightly when the two year old goddess only threw him a hesitant look. The tiny infant goddess then twisted her ankle unsurely before turning back to the imps. Then the little white-skinned goddess moved reluctantly towards Panic who now began to shake like a leaf… Pain winced and closed his eyes bracing himself for the worst.

They hated minion torture lessons but apparently it was necessary..

As Macaria approached Panic the little green imp looked as if he were about to pass out and the sight of his fear made a smirk twist itself across Hades' full blue lips, however it didn't stay there for long… what happened next wiped it clean off his face.

Instead of 'punishing' the imp like she was supposed to be doing little Macaria stretched out both her arms and wrapped them around Panic in a warm embrace, hugging the imp. Panic's big yellow eyes opened wide as an expression of shocked confusion spread across his face as the little blonde toddler hugged him… _Ok, this was new. _Even Pain, who had winked an eye open when he didn't hear his jittery partner's cries of anguish, now looked at the two in bewilderment.

For a long moment Panic just stood there letting the tiny little goddess, who was only a head taller than him, hug her. He didn't know what he was supposed to do now, he glanced over at Pain silently asking him what he should do but he got nothing more than a shrug of the shoulders and a non-committal jerk of the head in response.

The next second Panic's arms slowly rose then loosely wrapped around Macaria's shoulders so he was now hugging her back. The green imp knew he would probably get flamed for this but the toddler's sweet embrace just felt so.. _nice_..

Pain instantly turned his eyes to their boss who was now scowling deeply at his youngest daughter, his flaming hair had a ticked off yellow tinge to it as it flickered irritably.

'No, no, no, no, _no!_ _Maca! _What in-' Hades paused in his ranting, catching himself as he was not supposed to curse in front of his two year old daughter '-_Rrrrrr!_ What in blue blazes do ya think your doin'? I told you to _punish_ him, not _hug_ _him!_' The fiery Lord of the Dead glared at his two year old daughter and little Macaria and Panic instantly let go of each other. The skinny green imp instantly shot behind his chubby pink partner and quivered nervously, Pain barely noticed him do so as he was distracted by Hades' flaring temper which, for once, wasn't directed at them.

The tiny blonde goddess merely frowned back at her father through her mismatched eyes of green and yellow before folding her arms and pouting stubbornly.

'But I don't wanna punish him..' She sounded in a childish little whiney voice.

'Macaria..' Hades finally sighed after staring at his youngest daughter for a full two seconds. '-are ya _tryin_' to get me to combust? _'Cause that's what's gonna happen if ya don't start doin' as your told!_' The fiery god snarled the last part as his skin burnt a nasty orange shade and his yellow flames curled around his shoulders.

'No.. I won't, _I won't do it!_' Macaria squealed almost as fiercely, untying her arms, balling her tiny white fists and stamping her foot crossly on the stone floor. Her little blond pig-tails turned to fluid fire as her aura burned brightly.

'_Maca.._' Hades' voice was low and irritable now and a burst of angry flames instantly caused his tiny daughter to give a little gasp of shock, her fiery blonde pig-tails instantly returning to normal.

Pain and Panic blinked at each other in disbelief… they were _actually_ watching their boss argue with a two year old little girl…

'-the whole _point_ of minion torture _is to torture the minions!_' The fiery god was teetering on the very last edge of his patience with his daughter, neither of his other two children had argued with any of this basic godly training and yet Macaria fought with him on every turn… It seemed like the Fates had simply put her here to annoy him for their own amusement.

'No, no, no, no, no, no-' Macaria sounded stubbornly shaking her head with every 'no', her blonde hair slowly turning back into fire as her voice grew progressively louder. '-_no, no, no, no, NO!_'

'_Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, YES!_' Hades fired back immaturely, matching his youngest daughter's vocal pitch and flames. '_Now quit answerin' back and just torture them already!_'

For a long moment Macaria just stared at her father with the hugest set of eyes. Then her bottom lip started to wobble as tears began forming..

'_Nohhh-hoh, it's meeeeean!_' The tiny tot squealed out, her fiery blonde pig-tails shaking hard as she balled her fists again, streams of hot tears falling as she closed her eyes tightly…

'Aw geez, the waterworks again, urhh, this is just gettin' ridiculous..' Hades slapped his head in exasperation his skin returning to blue but his flames remained a ticked off white-hot yellow, he was fighting a loosing battle… the last thing he wanted was his two year old daughter to do was throw a hissy tantrum. As little Macaria continued to defiantly shake her blazing head and wiping her angry tears from her face, glaring at her father through her yellow and green eyes moodily, Hades' head whipped around to his two minions that had been quietly stood there debating whether or not they could slink away unnoticed.

'_Boys_..' The sound of their boss' low angry voice caused both imps to wince at his yellow flames and stand to attention. '-escort this naughty little girl to her room!'

Macaria glared impossibly harder at her father as Pain and Panic moved to either side of her and took a hand each. The little goddess instantly ripped her hands away from theirs and flared irritably at her father.

'I can go by myself..' Macaria sounded in a petulant little voice, instantly swivelling around on her hip and stalking off to the stairwell of their private quarters. As she stood on the bottom step she spun back around, still glaring through her mismatched eyes and stamped her foot moodily adding, '-thank… _you!_' Then whipped back around and ascended the stairs to go sulk in her bedroom.

'_Neuhhh!_' Hades stuck out his long purple tongue immaturely in response to this before collapsing on his throne. Raising his long blue fingers the fiery Lord of the Dead closed his eyes and rubbed his temple soothingly which caused his angry yellow flames to return slowly blue.

'Oy vey..' He eventually sighed exhausted, lowering his arm and slouching deeper into his throne. '-whatta li'l madam.. Seriously, I don't remember Than or Mel ever being this argumentative.' Pain and Panic only looked at each other, they weren't sure if he was talking to them or having another thought soliloquy… this confused them and they often got flamed for either answering or not answering when they were meant to. It seemed that for once they'd guessed correctly as the god didn't expect an answer from them and they breathed a sigh of relief.

This exhale brought their presence to Hades' attention and his golden eyes rolled around to them and frowned deeply.

'You two still here?' He asked in a low tone.

'Uh… no.' Pain responded as Panic grinned nervously, both imps them vanished out in a shimmer of green and pink causing a smirk to twist itself slowly across Hades' lips.

'Good answer..' He sounded with the barest edge of amusement before closing his eyes and sighing peacefully. The fiery god however, did not get to enjoy the peace for long when a familiar disembodied voice sounded.

'_Daaaad!~!_' Hades' eyes snapped open at the sound of Thanatos' voice and the blue-flamed Lord of the Dead groaned with slight despair, this _actually_ sounded important. The next second a swirling pillar of smoke appeared in the throne room and the golden-flamed God of Death-in-training appeared with a sombre expression.

'Oh good, your not busy.' Thirteen year old Thanatos sounded conversationally upon seeing his father slumped in his side of the large throne. Hades only frowned in response to this. 'Artemis wants a word with ya.'

'_Artemis?_' The Lord of the Dead almost choked on her name, his eyes widening in shock. 'What the Tartarus does _she_ want?' Hades frowned at his eldest child in disbelief. He could see no reason why the green-skinned Goddess of Wild Things would want to see him.

'Ya remember tellin' me about Asclepius, the doctor-guy you grassed up to Zeus 'cause he was literally robbin' your business?' A huge grin spread slowly across Thanatos' pale lips.

'Oh, oh..' Hades clicked his fingers, the name ringing a bell, before his face melted into recognition and he smirked at his son adding, '-his death drove Apollo completely mashuga and he slaughtered the Cyclopes, so Zeus sentenced him to serve some mortal king for a year?'

'Bingo!' Thanatos sounded brightly, pointing a finger and leering like a cheesy game-show host. 'Well, said king is on my hit list y'see and Apollo isn't too happy about it, _apparently_ this guy treated him admirably or whatever.. So he sent his sister to go talk to the Fates..' Thanatos paused to snicker at the very idea before wiping a tear of hilarity away before continuing, '-bad idea! Ya don't have to be omniscient to know what their response was… and Artemis came to me-' Thanatos barely had time to finish before Hades swooped in.

'_Why didn't she come to me?~!_' The fiery god roared causing a mini explosion of angry white-hot flames.

'_I know! _That's what _I _said but she said she wasn't sure if she should come to me or to you first and since I cut the life-lines… yaddda, yaddda, yaddda. The point is she's waitin' to see ya now.' Thanatos reeled off with barely a breath before leaning in and flashing a wide smirk at his father.

'Alright brat I'm up to speed, summon her in.' Hades sounded amiably, flicking a wrist towards his son as he straightened himself so he'd appear more professional.

'Ok Artemis, he'll see ya now..' Thanatos called upwards through the circular hole in the ceiling and as the fiery teenage god swirled out into smoky darkness, reappearing on his mother's side of the throne and slouching comfortably beside his father, a glow of green light appeared as the Goddess of Wild Things appeared in the throne room.

* * *

Artemis blinked a couple of times, adjusting to the change in darkness before her brown eyes adjusted to the room, her pale yellow aura glowed brightly in the room as her long green pony-tail swished, her skin was the palest yellow and her curvy figure was squeezed into a short white chiton with light green girdle and brown sandals that were laced up to her shins. She took in the creepy looking throne room for a moment before her eyes travelled to the pyrogods who were watching her from the two-seater throne.

'You wanted to see me about somethin'?' Hades feigned ignorance as he threw a twisted smirk at Artemis who frowned back at it. Her features softened slightly after a moment before the goddess chose her words carefully.

'Yes. My brother served king Admetus for his brutal slaughter of the Cyclopes?' Artemis sounded gently.

'Naturally..' Hades sounded with a nod for her to continue.

'He is somewhere on your sons list to die.' Artemis started before being cut off.

'How do you know that, if ya don't mind me askin'?' Hades flashed the goddess a curious glance and Thanatos perked up at this question.

'My brother had a vision in which he saw Thanatos coming for him.' Artemis replied and this caused Hades to raise his brows impressed while Thanatos looked slightly bemused for a brief moment before his flames flared a bright nasty orange..

…_The Fates! What are they plotting now…_

'Did he really?' Hades' yellow eyes narrowed in slight amusement at the irritation of his son, clearly this was another plot of his Fate-sisters. The fiery god's large pupils returned to Artemis and he flashed her a leer.

'Yes. And now he has sent me to try and change this king's fate.' The Goddess of Wild Things sounded in a strong voice as her green pony-tail swished, she wasn't going to let her brother down.

'It can't be done!' Thanatos' white fist slammed onto the armrest of his mother's side of throne and as it did he burst into flame, burning his skin off completely and his flames smouldered out. Both Hades and Artemis blinked at the smoking skeleton who was glaring down at the Goddess of Wild Things through soulless hollow black eye sockets, a black aura pulsing ominously around him.

'_Fate cannot be cheated!_' Thanatos roared out angrily, his voice was several octaves lower than normal and had an almost demonic quality to it. The God of Death-in-training then sighed as black smoke circled his body and he emerged with his skin, flames and eyes intact. 'It is… inevitable. _Duhhh!_' The fiery godling's voice was back to normal as he stuck his greyish-pink tongue out at Artemis who frowned at his immaturity.

Gods really were pigs to her.

Hades instantly slapped a hand around his son's mouth, silencing him and causing the godling to frown at his father.

'Usually I'd say don't listen to him, he's justa fiery little punk..' Hades sounded warmly to the yellow-skinned goddess before his smirk tweaked in a way she didn't like. '-however, on this occasion he's absolutely right.' The blue fiery Lord of the Underworld let go of his son's mouth and Thanatos grinned hugely at his father. Hades gave him a fleeting smirk before his face returned to Artemis and his expression cooled. 'I can't simply order Thanatos not to slice his life-line, it doesn't work like that..' The fiery Lord of the Dead rose from his seat and descended the short stairs so he was now standing beside the Goddess of Wild Things, his impressive eight foot self towering over her now.

Thanatos sprawled out across the two-seater throne with a casual smirk as Artemis gulped nervously. Despite her swiftness and keen shot with a bow Hades was still more powerful than her, if he wanted to overpower her he could do so easily.

'Y'see those on Death's List must be cut in the _precise_ order they appear, if one gets missed then the cosmic balance is thrown off..' Hades spoke gently but clearly as he circled around Artemis slowly, causing her green pony-tail to whip as her brown eyes followed him around cautiously as she listened intently. '-but there is one thing I _might_ be able to offer you.'

'What? What is it?' Artemis' brown eyes widened as Thanatos sat up slightly throwing his father a wary look.

'We could make an exchange.' Hades' yellow eyes narrowed deviously as his smirk twisted horribly. 'If this _king_ of Apollo's can find someone to take his place before his time runs out then that soul can die instead..' The fiery god then leaned in and added in a low devious voice. '-_if_ not, then I'm afraid Thanatos will have to end his life..' Both Hades and his son exchanged an evil smirk with each other before their eyes sought the Goddess of Wild Things for a response.

'That's monstrous!' Artemis gasped out horrified by this offer.

'That's my best offer toots, take it or leave it..' Hades drawled casually, circling her again then holding out his hand to Artemis who studied it cautiously before her brown eyes sought his again.

'The Fates will never agree to this.' She stated solemnly.

'Artemis, _baabe_..' The fiery god couldn't help smirk at her irritation at being called 'babe', she really was a proud virgin goddess. '-you just leave the minor details to me, capeesh? Now do we have a deal 'cause I need an answer _now_..' His large blue hand jerked impatiently as the god flared in annoyance.

'Alright, alright..' Artemis sounded with slight exasperation as there was only so much of her uncle she could take. The yellow-skinned goddess then seized his hand causing it to glow blue as she shook it firmly. '-we'll accept.'

'_Yes! _We have a deal.' Hades sounded jauntily as they shook hands before Artemis wrenched her hand away from his and broke the connection. 'Ya won't regret this Artemis, I swear by the Styx..' The fiery god carried on as Artemis studied her hand thoughtfully.

'Don't mention it..' The pale yellow-skinned goddess sounded wryly before hardening her resolve and throwing him a look of disdain. Then without another word the goddess vanished into a pale green light.

The moment she was gone Hades whipped around to Thanatos with a grim expression.

'How long do we have before this king-a-ling kicks the bucket?' He sounded in a business-like tone to his son who whipped out his Death List and scrolled down the names on it until he found Admetus'.

'One week.' Thanatos responded solemnly before rolling the scroll back up and making it disappear in a curl of smoky darkness.

'_Perfect_..' Hades' eyes narrowed deviously.

* * *

'What is the meanin' of this?' Thanatos snapped moodily, appearing out of an angry pillar of yellow flames directly into the Fates home. He'd vanished out on his father under the pretext of getting back to work to avoid suspicion, the last thing he wanted was his father to follow him. The three sisters didn't even look around from their weaving of the tapestry but merely carried on as if he wasn't there.

'That's it, hold it nice and tight..' Blue-skinned Clotho uttered to her green-skinned sister as Lachesis measured the thread. '-then drop two stitches-'

'I know how to weave a thread of life sister!' Lachesis squawked irritably as the Eye of Fate rolled in her socket, cutting off Clotho who glared back in annoyance.

'What's the meaning of what?' Atropos finally asked a flaring Thanatos calmly, not at all perturbed by his flames.

'He wants to know about your plans for Admetus.' Lachesis replied as her green fingers made quick work of shaping the thread of life's destiny.

'Oh that..' Atropos nodded vaguely. '-well you'll just have to wait and see.' She added to the teenage god dismissively.

'_Whadda ya mean I have to wait and see!_' Thanatos exploded into an angry-flamed skeleton.

'I told you he'd react this way..' Clotho sounded smugly from her perch on the right hand of the tapestry.

'Oh hush.' Atropos sounded with a bony scowl to her sister before she turned to Thanatos and her expression softened. 'There are some things that you cannot know just yet my dear..'

'Why not?' Skeletal Thanatos responded sharply.

'Because it could greatly affect the outcome..' Lachesis sounded soothingly.

'-and that will affect this score with Zeus you have to settle.' Clotho added lightly and her words suddenly caused Thanatos to become engulfed by smoky darkness. When he reappeared his eyes, skin and flames were intact and the teenage god had calmed down considerably and was studying the three crones curiously.

'What, whoa, time out..' Thanatos held up his white hands in a 'T' shape with a slight smirk of disbelief. 'Are you saying that if I just go along with this little scheme you three got goin' here, I'll be able to get back at Zeus?' The golden-flamed thirteen year old god could hardly believe his ears.

'We'll give you a nudge in that direction, yes..' Atropos sounded with a wide toothy grin to her protégé.

'Aw.. _yessss!_' Thanatos flared, his flames turning an excitable white-yellow as the god punched the air. 'Woo-hoo! I _love_ you old broads!' He then proceeded to kiss all three Fates which caused Lachesis to blush fiercely and giggle like some silly school girl. Clotho nudged her to shut her up.

'So whatta ya need me to do?' Thanatos instantly asked coming down from his euphoria quickly.

'All you have to do is follow the list..' Lachesis sounded with a huge simpering smirk to the teenage god.

'-we will take care of the rest.' Atropos added with a sinister leer then all four Deities of Destiny shared in the laughter that echoed eerily around the Fates' subterranean home.

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey Peeps, as the chapter title suggests the main story plot is about to kick off, which means we're into the second part of the story. A word of warning: the themes will be getting darker and although I will be trying to keep the humour it too might get a little grimmer (just letting you know). The aim is to finish this story in the next twenty chapters but we'll see, I'm not holding anything for certain yet as I can't really tell how long it's going to be, it's taken almost forty chapters (and a year!) to get this far!_

_Ok, it's myth time again people. I won't go into details about this one because most of the actual myth is the centre of the next few chapters worth of storyline, all I'll say is from this point onwards the story is going to get very interesting!_

_Stay tuned for more soon…_

_~Ditzy x_


	39. The long Lost Hero Returns,,

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**BubblyButtons2me: I know, the hug was so adorable! X**_

_**BlackDiamond07: Yup, Macaria is most definitely the 'white' sheep of the family, she's so different from the rest of them. I never wanted her to be like the others, plus Persephone's personality is rarely seen in her other two childern X**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: Yes, blame the computer… and yeh, if you know this myth then you'll be able to guess the basic story plot of the next few chapters but I have a few unseen tricks to twist in. X**_

_**DisneyPrincess: Yup, Macaria and Hades are two opposite personalities so expect lots of sparks hun, and yeh, it was a Rescuers reference because there are few similarities between Penny and Macaria X**_

_**MissSkulduggeryPleasant: Lol, you must be! And yes, Maca is a total pacifist, she wouldn't even smite a fly, much to her dad's disappointment. And yes, this is that myth hun so you'll know the basic plot although I have changed a few details so things will be different.. X**_

_**CosPalp: History? I think you mean myth but thank you, I try to keep things as close to myth as possible without destroying everything Disney created in the film and series. X**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Thirty-Nine:****And the long Lost Hero Returns…**

Admetus sighed heavily as he raised a hand to the side of his face and rested his chin glumly in his palm.

…_So this is it…_

For the last six days the King of Pherae had considered finding a substitute to free him from his impending death which was foretold to be the next day, the first day of Pherae in the Park, a five-day music festival honouring Apollo. It had been the God of Music himself who had warned the king of his fate and made a deal with Hades, through his sister Artemis, to substitute his soul for another…

The King of Pherae had taken in the exiled Apollo nearly fifteen years previously, when the deity had come to him as nothing more than a simple man in need of shelter and work. Kind-hearted Admetus had taken pity on this youthful lad and given him a job herding his cows. In the three years Apollo was in Pherae he served the king loyally and within a very short time he became the king's favourite. Under the exiled god's care the cows all bore strong healthy twins and when Admetus sought a wife it was Apollo who not only helped him in completing the impossible task set by her father, he helped him woo the young girl too. When it was time for Apollo to rejoin the gods on Olympus he told his dear friend the truth, promising to always be there for him..

Admetus exhaled once more, this time it was slower and heavier on the heart than the first. Although he was grateful to Apollo for setting up this deal with Hades the King of Pherae just could not find it in his heart to ask someone to die for him. He knew that he had guards and soldiers who would willingly do it, many of them would be proud to die for their gracious ruler, but Admetus just couldn't ask them…

'Is something wrong my love?' A soft voice broke the king away from his sorrows to find his beautiful wife Alcestis gazing at him concerned through her large brown eyes.

'It's nothing you need to concern yourself with my dear.' Admetus replied forcing a light smile to curve his lips as his eyes took in his wife. She may have aged slightly over their fourteen year marriage but she was still as lovely as the day he married her. Alcestis' rich brown hair was pulled up in a long elegant pleat which highlighted her swan-like neck. She wore a demure chiton of pastel blue which made her pale skin glow brightly.

The Queen of Pherae blinked confused by her husband for a moment before speaking again.

'But if it's anything I can help you with..' Admetus raised a hand causing his wife to tail off uncertainly.

'You can't, this is something I must face alone.' The king replied grimly, he would not let his wife die for him… he'd never live with himself if he lost her. This was why he did not dare tell her of his impending death, or the deal that could save him…

'I understand.' Alcestis responded even though she actually had no clue what her husband was on about. Right now he looked as though he needed her to be supportive and not pry, so this was what she was going to do… inside however her heart burned with curiosity and the deepening sense that something just didn't feel right…

Her husband was never this miserable during the run up to the music festival, he was usually making sure that there was no unfinished business that was going to get in the way of the celebrations. He made sure that the big acts like Orpheus and The Kitharodes Krooners had everything they needed while making sure they were stocked up on food, booze and other essentials as Pherae became overrun with tourists and festival goers all looking for a good time..

Alcestis had noticed her husband had been making some really odd requests to some of their household servants. The King of Pherae had even finalised his Last Will and Testament, paid off all his out-standing debts to other counties, tried and failed to make peace with his older brother and seemed hell-bent on finding a suitable suitor for their thirteen-year old daughter Iole. The Princess of Pherae was not particularly happy about her father's sudden keen interest in finding her a 'husband' but since there was no male heir to the throne Pherae would need a king…

* * *

It had been sixteen years since Hercules had defeated the Titans and freed Meg from the vile clutches of Hades and in that time Thebes had changed so much.. The people of Thebes could now walk down the streets without fearing a monster attacking or natural disaster striking. People could be seen wandering the streets happy and carefree as very little crime happened anymore… and it was all thanks to one red-headed hero.

Hercules had now turned thirty-four and although his eyes still shone with that same spark of boyish glee that his wife loved so much the light gathering of wrinkles around them showed his age. There was a gentle smattering of grey hairs in amongst his bright red locks and even though the middle-aged hero wasn't quite as agile as he'd once been in his late-teens and early twenties the demi-god son of Zeus could still put the fear of the gods into any scaly beast that crossed his path, that was if his reputation didn't scare them off first. These days Hercules preferred to be relaxing at home with his family rather than on the road punching monsters. His wife Meg had aged too and although she had faint crows-feet her beauty seemed to deepen with age. Her hips had widened since childbirth, her bosom was more ample and she wore her long brown hair up in a messy bun rather than a loose ponytail but other than that she hadn't really changed. Meg still had her sharp wit and flirty demure, able to charm even the stingiest street-vender into giving her a discount on her groceries. Meg was happy to have her husband at home with her, at least now when she kissed him goodbye she didn't have to wonder if it was the last time she was ever going to see him..

Three years after their open temple wedding where both mortals and gods could witness their vows Meg gave birth to their only child Hyllos. It had been a difficult and lengthy labour for her and the experience had put both Hercules and Meg off having anymore children. As their son grew older the new parents discovered that Hyllos had not inherited any of his father's godly strength and since he was a full-blooded mortal like his mother Hercules decided that it would be best for his son if the Olympian gods stayed incognito. It was a difficult decision but the hero wanted Hyllos to lead as normal life as he could, which would be difficult enough anyway since his father was the most famous guy in Greece..

Although it was heart-wrenching for both Zeus and Hera, knowing that they would have very little part in their grandson's life, the King of the Gods respected his son's decision.. It was decreed that from that day forward no deity was to interfere with their lives anymore than they would for any of their other charges.

Hyllos would never know about his godly heritage..

* * *

'_Meg_! C'mon we're going to be _late_..' Hercules called out towards the villa, where his wife was still getting herself ready for the music festival in Pherae.

'_Yeh_..' Hyllos called after him, already perched on the back of Pegasus. '-get the lead out mom!'

'Alright, alright… I'm coming, I'm coming.' Meg tutted while rolling her violet eyes, she emerged from the two large front doors of the villa and locked them shut before walking over to her two red-headed boys.

'_Urh_, finally..' Hyllos sighed heavily and Pegasus snorted in agreement causing Meg to pout slightly at the white winged-horse.

'Easy horse-feathers, it does take a gal a _little_ longer these days to look her best y'know..' The brunette sounded amiably and Pegasus only shook his mane with a slight whiney of disbelief.

'Ok honey, you look amazing now can you please just get on the horse so we can go?' Hercules asked in his kindest and most persuasive tone which caused Meg to raise a brow at him questioningly.

'Sheesh Herc the festivities are gonna last for the next five days, what's your hurry?' She asked her husband while jutting one hip out to the side.

'We're only going for one day, remember?' Hercules sighed.

'Oh, you say that now Wonder Boy..' Meg smirked in amusement at his words, shaking her husband's naivety. '-but once you get to Pherae in the Park you won't wanna leave, trust me.' The brunette sounded lightly, placing her hands on the back of Pegasus and lifting herself, the winged-horse giving her a bunt with his head. 'Thank you Pegasus..' Meg smiled at the horse, settling herself in front of her son and setting her deep purple-beaded handbag in her lap.

'What do you mean honey?' Hercules asked throwing her a slightly confused by her statement.

'Heh, before we met me and my friends used to go and camp out at Pherae in the Park every year..' Meg paused then added softly. '-well, we did before, y'know, I met _him_.' The middle-aged hero blinked at his wife, unable to distinguish if she was referring to her ex-boyfriend or her enslavement to Hades.

'You used to go to Pherae in the Park mom?' Hyllos asked his mother raising his brows impressed. 'Wow, I never realised you used to be so cool..'

Meg laughed heartily in response to this.

'_Used to be?~!_' She scoffed amused. 'Hyl there's a lot of things you don't know about me honey.' She winked playfully at her only child as Hercules settled himself in front of her.

'Everybody settled and raring to go?' The middle-aged hero asked cheerfully, swivelling his head to glance back at his family.

'_Yes_..' Both Hyllos and Meg sounded animatedly.

'-let's go already..' The teenage son of Hercules added causing Hercules to roll his eyes and shake his head at his family's enthusiasm before turning back to Pegasus.

'Alright Pegasus, we're going to Pherae!' He sounded cheerfully and the white-winged horse them took off, sailing threw the sky in the direction of Pherae in the Park.

* * *

Pherae in the Park wasn't really set in an _actual_ park, instead it was set in a vast grassy field on the outskirts of Pherae itself, not far from the Temple of Apollo. Franchises such as Speedy Pita, Gyro World and other big-names had tents in a type of make-shift food court along with an amusement section with carnival rides which were based around Apollo. Shops set up with merchandise too littered the ground selling sunglasses, sunhats, beach-balls and glow in the dark range of suns, sticks and necklaces so people could party well after dusk.

Once Hercules and his family made it passed the many stalls out front, unable to resist buying a few choice souvenirs. Meg was sporting a glow in the dark necklace in neon lilac, pink and blue while Hyllos had a beach-ball and Hercules sported a pair of sunglasses. These didn't stop people from staring at the family and their winged-horse as they slowly made their way towards the main stage where Orpheus would be playing soon. His music had turned slightly melancholy since the death of his wife. This performance was rumoured to be his last as the singer/songwriter was going to retire from music and turn to poetry and myth-weaving. Hercules had not seen Orpheus since his teens but apparently he had been singing the heroes praises since defeat of the many-headed hydra.

'Mom, dad..' Hyllos sounded bring Hercules out of his musings and both he and Meg turned to their son. '-is it ok if I go and look around? I promise I won't stray too far..'

'Well..' Meg drawled, thinking it over the throwing her son a wide smile. 'Ok Hyl-'

'-but take Pegasus with you, at least if something happens we'll be able to find you.' Hercules added with a slightly stern look.

'_Alright_..' Hyllos whooped gleefully. 'Come on Pegasus, let's go see if we can find an archery booth.' The teenage red-head sounded keenly and Pegasus whinnied agreeably and the two of them disappeared off into the crowd.

'Have fun and be safe.' Meg called out after him as they vanished out of sight as she crossed her arms smiling, reminiscing about her first time at this music festival… _Ah to be a carefree teen again… _The feeling of her husband's arm sliding around her waist brought Meg out of her wistful daydreaming and she turned and smiled tenderly at Hercules.

'He'll be fine Meg, he's a big tough boy..' He sounded with an affectionate tap on her nose. '-he can tie his own sandals and everything..' The two of them continued down the make-shift path to the main stage as Meg giggled at her husband's words.

'I'm sure I said something along those lines to you on the first day we met..' She sounded cheerfully.

'You did..' Hercules replied lightly. '-I just thought it was kind of appropriate here too.'

* * *

'C'mon, step right up, hit the target and win a prize..' The merchant at the archery booth called out to the passers by and Hyllos' violet eyes lit up at the sight of the bow and arrow set laid on the wooden counter of the stall. Many of the people around just passed with disinterest but not the son of Hercules, archery was one of his favourite things to do. Whenever he and his parents went to go visit 'Uncle' Phil, his father's retired mentor, on his home isle the old goat always let Hyllos use the target range on the hero-training equipment. Although Hercules himself had not been a natural at the sport Hyllos was and even though the son of Hercules lacked his father's strength he shared his father's spirit and brave heart, Phil often said that the kid was full of 'potential'. Despite officially being retired Phil could often be seen out on the assault course giving Hyllos pointers in combat and helping the young boy perfect his duelling techniques, he may never become the hero his father was but there was no harm in learning skills that may save his life or somebody else's one day.

'How much?' Hyllos asked politely as he and Pegasus approached the stand and the merchant smiled kindly.

'Five drachmas for three arrows kid..' He replied airily. As Hyllos exchanged money for some arrows the merchant smiled kindly. 'Need any pointers kid?'

'No it's ok..' Hyllos replied smiling back. '-I've done this before..'

'Alrighty then..' The merchant sounded lightly. '-just hit the target to win a prize.' He then turned to a crank at the side of the stand were the targets stood and began winding it causing the targets to spin around on a circular track.

'Easy as pie..' Hyllos sounded amiably. '-don't you think Pegasus?'

The winged-horse nodded and made a strange sort of whining-chirp in airy agreement.

'Ok, here we go..' Hyllos pulled back the arrow that was set in the rest of the bow, winked one eye shut and took aim. Satisfied that he was on target Hyllos let go of the arrow, opened his eye and lowered the bow.

The arrow sailed through the air and just missed the target as it whipped passed.

'Ooh, that was really close kid, think ya let go a little too soon.' The merchant sounded sympathetically, still winding the crank.

'Yeh, think so..' Hyllos agreed then turned and hissed to Pegasus. '-so glad Phil's not here to see this..' Pegasus made two snorting noises as if saying 'me too'. So Hyllos took aim again and fired the second arrow.

This time it sailed across and hit the target causing the winged-horse to chirrup in congratulations.

'A bulls-eye, nice shot kid!' The merchant sounded happily. 'Now you can take anything off the bottom shelf here or take your last shot and if you hit win a better prize..'

'Well, I may as well play my last shot..' Hyllos sounded brightly, picking up his final arrow.

At this point a young teenage girl with dark blonde hair and bright blue eyes appeared out of the crowd, watching curiously as the red-headed teen took aim with his arrow.

Once more the arrow hit it's target causing Pegasus to whiney with glee.

'Another bull's-eye! Your really good at this, Apollo must have blessed you kid..' The merchant sounded happily.

'Uh, yeh, he must have done..' Hyllos sounded slightly flustered, he'd only hit two bulls-eyes which he considered to be nothing special.

'Well anyway, pick out your prize from the middle shelf here..' The merchant gestured to the shelf and Hyllos eventually settled on a fuzzy teddy bear thinking he would probably just give it to his mother. As he and Pegasus turned away the pretty teenage girl approached him.

'Your really good at that archery game..' Her soft voice sounded amiably causing the red-headed teen and his winged-horse companion to turn to her in surprise. Her long dark blonde hair was tied back into a high-pleat which had pastel blue ribbons weaved through it and her matching chiton was made out of some soft flowing material. Her wide blue eyes were framed by a few loose curls and her rounded chin.

'Oh, uh, thanks..' Hyllos felt himself blush slightly with nerves. '-but uh, I only hit the target twice.'

'It's better than all the others I've seen play this game.' The girl remarked casually before she added politely. 'I'm Iole by the way..'

Hyllos blinked stupidly at her for a moment.

'Do I.. get your name?' Iole eventually prompted Hyllos and there was a slight awkward pause before Pegasus nudged the son of Hercules with his muzzle.

'Uh, I uh… Hyllos, my um, my name is Hyllos..' The son of Hercules eventually managed to stutter out causing Pegasus to sigh and rolled his eyes… this was like de'ja'vu for the winged-horse..

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Ok peeps, all Hercules and Meg fans can give a cheer! The couple are officially back in the storyline along with their son Hyllos (which is an actual son of Hercules in myth). Again I know fine well that Hercules had a huge mass of children in actual myth but again, it didn't seem very Disneyesque for them to have a massive brood… plus I already have a huge cast of OC's to keep track of without a huge list of Hercules' children as well.._

_Alright, I've made some small twists to actual myth here but it was (again) necessary for my plot to work. Iole in myth was not the name of Admetus' daughter and in myth he did have a son, however for this story to work I'm trying to show how concerned the king is for his kingdom. Admetus' character is pretty much the same as in myth but I myself have a hard time believing the a man as kind, wise and proud like this king would be happy letting somebody die for him, you can tell me if you agree or not, this is just my opinion._

_Hope you all enjoyed the break from the Underworld characters but fear not, they'll be back in the next chap!_

_Stay tuned!_

_~Ditzy_


	40. Hercules and the Temple of Doom

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**BubblyButtons2me: Thanks hun but this one is better… trust me! X**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: Lol, it was a sort of 'oh my gods not again' moment for Pegasus wasn't it? I'm glad your happy about the return of Hercules because things are hotting up pretty quickly *hint, hint*.. X**_

_**DisneyPrincess: I love Meg and Hercules too! And Iole and Hyllos is a cute moment, your right, it was a lot like Meg and Hercules' first meeting… I guess Hyl is as talented with the ladies as his dad is! XD X**_

_**MissSkulduggeryPleasant: Lol, you know the basic storyline if you know the myth, it's handy having basic knowledge for this fic but not entirely necessary though… I've twisted details like Disney did so their will always be a surprise and I love hearing what myth buffs like yourself think about them X**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Forty:****Hercules and the Temple of Doom**

'Oh look, how cute… Hyllos found himself a little girlfriend.' Meg sounded as she spotted her son walking with a very pretty little girl with dark blonde hair, porcelain skin and rosy cheeks all wrapped up in a very modest pastel-blue chiton.

'What?' Hercules, who had been swaying in time to Orpheus' music, turned to see what his wife was looking at. His eyes landed on his son and the middle-aged hero smiled as he saw Hyllos look on bashfully to the pretty girl next to him..

'Aw-haw… that is cute.' Hercules threw a soppy grin as his son nervously gave Iole the teddy he had won at the archery booth. The girl beamed widely and hugged the bear close.

'My little Hyl is growing up..' Meg sighed, her shoulders sagging slightly as her arms wrapped automatically around her chest.

'Meg?' Hercules turned his sky blue eyes around to see the slightly sad hint to her smile.

'Oh. It's not a bad thing Wonder Boy, it's just… I wanted him to be my little boy for a little while longer.' The middle-aged brunette smiled at her husband. Hercules could see her point, she thought she was going to lose her son to the lure of a pretty girl. The middle-aged hero wrapped an arm around her waist and gently pulled her too him.

'He'll always be your little boy..' Hercules crooned in her ear making Meg's smile widen as her violet eyes looked over at her son. The middle-aged hero pulled away and smirked with boyish glee. 'Hah, he's too much of a mama's boy not to be.'

Meg too smirked in amusement at her husband's words.

'Well, we both know that's true Wonder Boy..' She then seized his hand roughly and hauled him back through the crowd. 'Now c'mon, we don't want him spotting us..'

* * *

…They weren't the only parents who had spotted something in the crowd..

'Askeles my dear, is that Hercules and his lovely wife in the crowd?' Admetus sounded curiously, his eyes had been roaming the crowd casually had suddenly spotted the couple. He had read in the Greekly World News that the hero had just returned from reining in the Man-eating Mares of Diomedes.

'Why yes it is, and that's not all… look a little further up.' The King of Pherae followed his lovely wife's fingers up until his grey eyes rested on the familiar figure of his daughter Iole, who was talking to a handsome young red-headed boy with the most unusual shade of violet for eyes. As he wondered who the youth was he then spotted Hercules' noble steed-with-wings Pegasus.

'That must be Hercules' son..' Admetus sounded thoughtfully, he had not found a potential husband for his daughter despite all his time looking and now the answer seemed to fall into his lap… it also helped that his daughter looked sweet on the hero's son. Having a son of Hercules on the throne would be the ideal solution to his conundrum... Of course he would have leave his kingdom in the capable hands of his prime minister for a few years until the childern were sixteen, the legal age of marriage but that wasn't an issue.

'Admetus..' Askeles sounded with slight amusement. '-your not thinking of betrothal, are you?' The Queen of Pherae kinked a brow at her husband… she knew him to well.

'What? Preposterous. Now where is a servant when you need one.' Admetus sounded before spotting a soldier not too far away. 'Ah yes, you sir, invite Hercules and his family to sit at our table for the big feast.' The man bowed to his king then disappeared off to locate the hero.

Askeles shook her head with disbelief…

* * *

…Meg and Hercules were once more bopping in time to Orpheus' latest hit song, the brunette had been stunned when she'd first learnt what a graceful dancer her husband was but now it was one of their favourite things to do together.

'Excuse me Mr Hercules..' Someone tapped on Hercules' shoulder and the middle-aged hero instantly stopped dancing, which caused Meg to pause confused before she too straightened. '-King Admetus wishes to invite you and your family to sit with him at the royal table during the Feast for Apollo tonight.'

'Oh, that' very kind of him but y'see me and my family are only here for-' Meg instantly elbowed her husband in the ribs before he could finish declining the offer.

'What my darling husband meant to say was..' Meg instantly cut in front of her husband and began using her feminine charms on the solider… before her demeanour hardened into a business woman and she added, '-tell his Mr Highness that we'll be there at six.'

'But Meg, we're only here for the day remember..' Hercules sounded the instant the solider had left them.

'This is a great honour Hercules, besides he's a king, you can't refuse.' The brunette beamed widely.

'I suppose you've gotta point there.' Hercules sounded with a slight sigh.

* * *

Deep in the depths of Tartarus Thanatos leaned casually against his scythe as his bright golden eyes narrowed lazily. The fiery godling was watching Sisyphus casually as the former-king struggled to roll the boulder up the hill. It had only been three years since this criminal had confined him to the closet but Thanatos had been changed by the experience. This incident had made him begin to resent the mortal race and had also made him wary of confined spaces… fear was a weakness unbefitting of a God of Death so as a result Thanatos hated this guy more than any other.

'Hey guys..' Thanatos sounded to Pain and Panic who were stood with the young Lord of the Undead. 'Watch this..' Thanatos' golden orbs narrowed with wicked delight as he pointed a long white finger towards the boulder Sisyphus was pushing up. The next second a bit of rock from the mountain floor jerked up and caused the boulder to jolt, then roll back down the hill.

'_Arh_, not again..' Sisyphus sounded irritably and stomped off moodily down the mountain after it.

Thanatos and the two imps laughed gleefully at this.

'Ahhhh, this never get's old does it?' Thanatos sighed as his laughter died and he flicked a tear of amusement away.

'Heh, you said it junior boss.' Pain cackled holding his round belly.

'There's nothing more hilarious than watchin' some poor schmo get his just deserves.' Panic sighed happily, his eyes narrowed wistfully as if trying to chisel this to memory.

'Oh yeh?' Thanatos kinked a brow, his smirk widening in further amusement. 'Wanna see somethin' even funnier?' He grinned widely at his father's minions, both Pain and Panic had been on Titan Inspection before being distracted by the son of Hades who was down in Tartarus doing one of his favourite things… teasing Sisyphus.

Both imps beamed mischievously back at the godling and Thanatos raised a hand and pointed his finger towards Sisyphus who was still wandering back to his rock. A crack appeared in the ground, tripping the former-king who cried out in alarm and tumbled down to the bottom where his rock was waiting for him.

Thanatos and both imps roared in laughter at this as Sisyphus, who had smashed into his boulder shook off his dizziness and glared at the three of them, who were laughing so hard they could barely stand up.

'Why you nasty little pyro-brat..' Sisyphus snarled moodily to himself, not wishing to invoke more of Hades' wrath by insulting his son directly. Omniscient Thanatos, who already knew what he had uttered only laughed harder in amusement as the imps fell to the ground. The former-king then sighed heavily, dusted his hands with a little dirt to help him grip the boulder then began to heave it back up the cliff.

'You were right..' Pain finally managed to choke out between laughs. '-that was funnier..'

'When will you learn..' Thanatos rolled his eyes. '-I am always right.'

* * *

…When the golden-flamed fiery god finally managed to tear himself away from his fun he reappeared in the throne room still snickering slightly.

'You've been teasin' Sisyphus again, haven't ya?' Hades' voice came out casually from behind the torture catalogue he'd been studying while slouched across the throne.

'Well dad, it's like you say, there's nothin' like the pain 'n' sufferin' of others to make ya feel good about yourself.' Thanatos replied airily then glancing at the scroll his father was musing over.

'Lookin' for some new implements of anguish for the Torture Den in Tartarus?' The fiery godling asked casually as he opened Death's List and scanned the sheet, he had a little time left before he was due at the palace of Admetus.

'I thought I'd treat myself since we've managed to save some moolah this semester, thanks some of my own brilliant accounting..' Hades flashed his son a wide proud smirk.

'That's great dad..' Thanatos responded lightly before looking curiously at his father. '-now did you manage to convince Bacchus to stall the Fates for me?' The godling asked and Hades lowered his magazine-scroll to look plainly at his son.

'Piece of cake kid, he should be arriving there..' Hades glanced at the shadow-dial near his throne then brightened at the time it read. '-oh, any second now..' The blue-flamed god grinned widely at his son.

'Perfect.' Thanatos responded with a wide smirk. 'Now all I need to do is wait for the opportune moment to collect my soul..' With that the fiery God of Death-in-training vanished out in a curl of smoke leaving his father to casually browse his torture catalogue in peace.

* * *

…_In the grotto of the Fates…_

Lachesis clicked away on the tapestry as Atropos sharpened her scissors, ready to cut the thread of life that would end the life of King Admetus.

'Yo ho _ladies_…' Bacchus' loud voice bellowed out as the front door to the Fates' home burst open and the God of Parties appeared out of a swirl of pink, beaming while holding a large pitcher of wine which slopped all over the place. 'A certain blue-flamed deity told me that it's somebody's birthday today!' Bacchus declared brightly before looking confused, Hades clearly hadn't told him which one it was. 'So, uh, which one of you's the lucky broad?'

'It's her birthday..' Lachesis and Clotho both instantly pointed toward Atropos, already knowing that this was a scheme by Hades.

'What?' Atropos squawked, finally looking up from her scissors, the Eye of Fate in her socket coming back into the focus of the room. 'No it isn't, my birthday's not until-' The rest of her words were cut off as Bacchus seized the shortest fate around the shoulders, making her drop her scissors in shock. The rotund pink God of Parties then instantly poured a whole gobletful of wine down the old crone's throat.

'Happy birthday Atropos!' The God of Parties declared before adding, 'Here, lemmie pour you another drink..'

'For the last time you great dolt..' Atropos responded sharply. '-it is not my…' The oldest Fate then suddenly held her head feeling a bit tipsy. '-oh my, I feel a bit light-headed.'

'Hey, that's a good start to your birthday Atropos, here drink up ladies, there's plenty to go around..' Bacchus declared brightly pouring all four of them a drink Lachesis and Clotho to a few sips out of theirs before slyly discarding the rest, wanting to keep their wits about them. Atropos however took a deep draught almost emptying her cup and smacked her lips.

'Is she always this much fun..' Bacchus smirked at the other two Fates as Atropos poured herself another drink, quickly forgetting about her scissors or the fact that it wasn't actually her birthday.

'Only on her 'birthday'..' Clotho responded with a wink to Lachesis who snickered. The Fates barely drank a drop of alcohol so they got drunk really quickly. Now they could implement the rest of Hades' deal and Atropos would be too intoxicated to see which thread she was cutting.

'Well, thank you for popping round to wish our sister a happy birthday but we have work to do..' Lachesis sounded lightly, steering Bacchus towards the door as the pink deity blinked confused.

'But we were just getting started..' Bacchus sounded disappointed as Clotho handed him back his vase of wine.

'I know but the Fates' work is never done, now why don't you go to Pherae in the Park and party down with the rest of the music-loving idiots..' Clotho replied and her words caused the God of Parties to beam widely.

'Pherae in the Park? I love that celebration! Hah, see ya ladies I gotta shindig to get buck-wild at!' Bacchus sounded brightly before vanishing out in a puff of pink.

Clotho sighed heavily shutting the door behind her.

'Well that takes care of the bumbling boob..' She uttered.

'Now to just take care of our sister..' Lachesis cackled and the two sisters watched Atropos stagger towards her scissors and pick them up unsteadily from the floor.

'Ok Atropos, it's time to cut the thread of life..' Lachesis sounded chirpily and Atropos gave drunken little grin and waved her scissors happily.

'Woo-hoo, about darn time girls!' The Fate of the Inevitable whooped gleefully before staggering over to the Tapestry of Fate.

'Oh this ought to be interesting..' Clotho sounded grimly, folding her arms as their drunken sister swayed unevenly on her feet.

'Yes, very interesting..' Lachesis grinned a knowing smile.

* * *

Thanatos sighed heavily from his spot in the rafters.

'Oy vey, I think I'd rather be at a wake..' The teen godling sneered, his lip curling in revulsion at the celebrations going on in the temple of Apollo which had gentle music playing in the background. '_Yeuch! Lyre music?~! _What is this? Lullaby hour before Morpheus wraps you up in his blanket of peaceful _sleeeep?_' The God of Death-in-training sounded mockingly, sticking his fingers down his throat and dry retching. 'You people make me sick!' The grim godling bellowed down towards the congregation then beamed when nobody reacted to it.

'Heh, good thing mortals aren't aware of my presence until it's time to die..' Thanatos sighed heavily with a wide smirk. '-I just love being me.'…

* * *

…Down below the fiery god the royal table was deep in conversation.

'So Hercules, tell us about these Man-eating mares you recently faced..' Askeles asked sweetly from her seat the main table as she cut into her boar meat.

'Oh, well, they were _huge.. _with great big red eyes and long sharp teeth that could rip a man's limb off…' The hero began impressively.

'I just love it when your father tells one of his hero stories..' Meg hissed to Hyllos who was sat on her other side.

'Me too mom, me too.' Hyllos responded with a faint smile, he'd grown up hearing many adventures his father had had and never got tired of hearing them..

* * *

…Above the group Thanatos who had been dozing, waiting for the moment when Admetus would leave the table so he could get the king on his own, perked up at the mention of tearing limbs and looked down towards the one telling the story.

'_Hercules_..' Thanatos seemed to do a double take as his eyes rested on the middle-aged hero. '-as in cousin Hercules? _Zeus' mortal son!_' The fiery God of Death-in-training's golden-flames billowed in excitement. 'Oh my Fates, you've just made this very interesting, _very_ _interesting_ _indeed_..' He drawled grinning widely, his golden eyes narrowing with malicious delight at these suddenly _fortuitous circumstances_..

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Heya peeps, sorry to leave it on a cliff-hanger like this but I'm saving the big moment for the next chapter! Sorry! The title of this chapter is a pun-merging of Hercules the animated series and the Indiana Jones film…_

_Ok, point I should have made in the last chap: Pherae in the park is kind of a nod towards T in the Park which is the biggest music festival (also my local festival too!) in Scotland and features many different types of music.._

_Ok, I'm almost at 200 reviews… keep reviewing!_

_I'm excited about the next chapter so stay tuned for more…_

_~Ditzy X_


	41. Who's Death is it Anyway?

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**BubblyButtons2me: Thanks hun! here's another! X**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: Haha, there's a bit more squabbling fate for you in this chap then.. and do you honestly blame Thanatos for wanting to make Sisyphus' torture more miserable? X**_

_**DisneyPrincess: Lol, than's just rubbing salt in old wounds though, shows just how petty he can be! Lol, I agree, 'yo-ho ladies' has to be my favourite Bacchus line ever! And yup, I wouldn't trust Atropos with them either! X**_

_**Black Diamond07: Um, you might be waiting a while hun, unfotunately there's not going to be any more time jumping until the end of the fic. But i agree with you, if Macari grew up and fell in love with Hyllos it really would make both Hades and Thanatos combust into furious blazes! XD**_

_**Princess Aaliyah: (chap40) Macaria is so adorable and sweet it's hard to hate her isn't it? But if you want to see sibling relationships the one-shot Macaria... Go to Bed!~! will answer that for you.. (chap39) I will be adding Macaria to the profiles once I find a suitable middle name for her, I was actually considering Kore but am still debating over it... and I'm still working out a design for Macaria, everything i draw just isn't cute enough to be her! X**___

_**MissSkulduggeryPleasant: Ok, Miss Smarty what happens in the next chap... eh? ;) X**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Forty-One:****Who's Death is it Anyway?**

Thanatos found himself growing bored with the festivities below him as King Admetus and his guests continued to feast and chatter merrily amongst themselves, then after what seemed like eternity Admetus finally excused himself from the party and got up from the table.. The God of Death-in-training smirked and vanished into darkness, merging with the king's shadow so he could stalk him unseen.

The thirteen year old son of Hades followed the middle-aged king as he went to his private study which was just off the main throne room. As the God of Death-in-training blended in seamlessly with the rest of the murky shadows Admetus pulled out a leather-bound folder from his desk of paperwork and opened it, still standing in front of the desk. Inside was an official looking scroll which was the king's Last Will and Testament which Admetus had written out not long after discovering he was doomed to die.. While the king reflected sadly on his life, exhaling slowly as he realised all the things he was going to miss the shadows behind him curled together and swirled silently..

'Already finalized the will, have ya?' The sound of Thanatos' boyish voice broke the subdued silence causing the King of Pherae to jump in shock and drop his will on the ground as he spun to face the one who interrupted his lamentation.

In facing death the King of Pherae expected to be fearful, shocked, or even downright petrified… the one thing he didn't expect was to be amazed. The being in front of him couldn't be any older than his own daughter… the teenage boy was around five and a half feet tall with pearly white skin, large rounded golden eyes and judging by the full golden-flaming quiff of hair on his head he was immortal. There was only two gods in the whole cosmos that Admetus had heard of that had flaming hair and since this one was clearly not Hades it had to be..

'Thanatos..' The golden flamed deity smirked widely, not even bothering to bow or extend an arm to the king in greeting. '-God of Death-' He then added in a slight undertone. '-in-training.' The golden-flamed godling grinned almost manically at the middle-aged king for a moment before snapping back and speaking again.

'So… how ya holdin' up?' The deity sounded casually as if talking to an old acquaintance. For what seemed a long time Admetus only stared at the god in front of him before eventually opening his mouth.

'Well, I-'

'Hey, that's great..' Thanatos cut him off before Admetus could utter even so much as another syllable. 'By the way, kudos to ya for sortin' out your affairs before I arrived..' Thanatos rolled his black pupils animatedly. '-you will not believe the amount of mortals I've whacked that haven't even given that a single thought.' Admetus couldn't help but suppress a shudder, he didn't like how casually this god spoke about death, almost like he were merely commenting on the weather, he guessed his uneasiness came from the fact that this being was clearly around his early teens.

'Well I did get some warning of your arrival..' Admetus responded coolly, finally finding his voice and his words made Thanatos' grin widen further as his eyes narrowed in slight amusement.

'Yeh it pays to have friends in high places, don't it?' The fiery godling sounded casually then as if he had just realised something he added, 'Which reminds me, you got offered substitution didn'tcha?' His fiery quiff flickered as Thanatos glanced around, as if looking for said 'substitute'. 'So were is the dammed soul anyway?'

'There isn't one..' Admetus sounded firmly, folding his arms tightly across his chest and throwing the juvenile god a frown. 'Nobody is dying for me tonight.'

For a long moment Thanatos only looked at the king plainly. He wasn't an idiot, he knew honour when it was glaring at his face…

'Is that right..' The fiery godling replied faintly, kinking a brow. Clearly this guy did not know the Fates as well as he did, Lachesis always had tricks up her sleeve for just such an occasion…

* * *

'Ok Atropos, it's almost time to cut the thread..' Lachesis sounded happily as Atropos swayed unevenly.

'Maybe you should sit down for this one sister..' Clotho sounded in her raspy voice as the blue-skinned Fate offered her drunken sister a chair.

'Quit badgering me, I'm fine, I-' Atropos, who had the Eye of Fate in her single socket, blinked at the tapestry life thread in Lachesis' slime green fingers. 'Hold that _darn_ thread still will you, it's shaking all over the place!' Lachesis glared at her sister through her blank sockets, the thread sat motionless between her fingers.

'She is holding it still you drunken old prune!' Clotho's voice shrieked as she raised it irritably.

'I am _not_ drunk!' Atropos squawked back offended before swaying unevenly. 'I'm just a little unsteady on my feet is all..' The tiny lilac Fated added in a softer voice.

'Oh yes..' Clotho folded her arms stubbornly, a sarcastic hint to her voice. '-that must be it and not the fact that you had three large glasses of Bacchus' home-made wine!'

While her sisters had been sniping at each other Lachesis took advantage of this moment to slip Admetus' thread back into the Tapestry of Fate and carefully entwining it with a thread next to it before plucking that thread up and holding it up to be cut by Atropos.

'Oh, stop exaggerating Clotho they _weren't_ that large..' The Fate of the Inevitable then turned back to her sister who was holding the thread to be cut out to her. She raised her shaking sheers towards the thread before pausing..

'Y'know, I think I do need that seat after all sister..' Atropos sounded faintly holding her head.

'I thought you might..' Clotho added, pushing the seat towards her eldest sister and the lilac fate sunk into it gratefully before turning her sheers back to the thread. 'Remind me never to drink on the job again..' She muttered as her sheers moved shakily towards the thread her green-skinned sister was holding while wearing a wide smirk..

* * *

…At the exact same moment back in Pherae the door handle to Admetus' study slowly turned causing the middle-aged king's eyes to widen shock. The door flew open to reveal his lovely wife who was looking concerned.

'Are you going to be much longer darling the guests are-' Askeles broke off at the sight of the pale-skinned teenage god with a full golden quiff of flames dressed in a long black robe. 'Who are you?' The Queen of Pherae asked the juvenile deity cautiously, unable to explain the sense of ill-omen she got from him.

'Ya hear that? She wants to know who I am..' Thanatos' voice muttered with slight amusement into the king's ear. This seemed to jolt Admetus out of his shock.

'Just go back to the feast Askeles-' He started before the God of Death-in-training spoke, cutting his words off.

'Hey how ya doin', the name's Thanatos, God of Death-' The fiery godling reeled off casually before adding under his breath. '-in-training.'

Judging by the look in her pale blue eyes there was only one of those words that had really hit Askeles… _Death._

'_No!_' She suddenly squealed quickly realising why Death was here. 'You can't take him, _I won't let you!_' The Queen of Pherae instantly moved towards Thanatos only to be halted by her husband who seized her upper arm and dragged her away from the god.

'Askeles get back!' Admetus cried as he clutched his wife who was now sobbing.

'Funny..' Thanatos sounded in a musing voice, looking completely unaffected by their plight. His casual tone made both Rulers of Pherae look both curious and wary at the same time. '-I don't remember sayin' I was here for _him_.' The golden-flamed deity pointed a long white finger towards the King of Pherae.

'What?' Askeles sounded confused gazing at the god through teary eyes.

'_No.._' Admetus glowered at Thanatos who smirked gleefully back, pleased by the effect his words had on the pair. 'You wouldn't..' the king's face was chalk white as he instantly understood Thanatos' intentions.

'Wouldn't I?' Thanatos raised both brows in slight amusement at this before leaning closer to the terrified middle-aged couple, his smirk twisting horribly. If Askeles hadn't understood what Thanatos had meant before she did now.

'I told you already..' Admetus snapped. '-nobody is dying for me tonight!' For a long moment Thanatos merely regarded the King of Pherae with a blank expression before his smirk widened creepily.

'Very well..' He sounded in a low voice, twirling his wrist casually and causing his long black-handled scythe to appear out of a swirl of black smoke. The godling gripped the implement of death before it could fall to the ground, the smooth black-wooden handle was cool to the touch as it hung loosely in his grip. '-let's get this over with, it's not just you that's dyin' tonight.'

'Admetus no!' Askeles cried as her husband tried to push her aside so he could face death with pride like he had always planned, the Queen of Pherae was still standing in between Death and his intended 'victim'.

'Askeles get out of the way..' The middle-aged king sounded irritably with a hint of panic. He knew if she didn't move Thanatos would just invoke the deal of substitution and take her instead.

'You can't die! I won't let you!' Askeles declared angrily.

Thanatos took his time closing the gap, watching as the royal couple squabbled, their desperate and fearful voices causing his smirk to twitch. He was taking his time, drinking in the sense of doom and despair that issued from them as they argued. Admetus suddenly managed to swivel around his wife to face the godling… it was going to be a close call, but who's soul was he going to reap?

As Thanatos stretched out his boyish white fingers to issue the Touch of Death to his intended 'victim' the door swung open again and the silhouette of a third person appeared in the doorway of the study. The room was suddenly bathed in the light of the hallway and it's presence caused both Thanatos and the quarrelling royal couple to pause and stare a this intruder.

* * *

'Halt!' The strong voice of the newest arrival commanded and this caused Thanatos' gold eyes to narrow into slits of annoyance, only his parents and the Fates could issue him with a direct order. 'As a hero I must demand that you release-'

Thanatos rolled his eyes, already bored with the hero's prepared speech… _Sheesh, did he bore all of Greece with that baloney? _Within a split-second of Hercules talking the God of Death-in-training had made his move. He stretched out his fingers and without even looking to see who it was the golden-flamed godling touched the mortal standing closest to him. Being death-incarnate meant that the moment Thanatos touched said mortal they collapsed onto the floor unconscious.

It was this that caused Hercules to break off from his speech and stare dumbstruck at the unconscious being on the floor.

'_Askeles!~!_' Admetus' voice cried out in dismay and disbelief at the lifeless body of his wife laid across the floor before dropping to his knees beside her.

The sound of the king's distress seemed to rouse Hercules from his shock and his stormy blue eyes snapped onto the teenage pyrogod, glaring hatefully at him. In response to this Thanatos only raised his brows in a 'what did you really expect me to do' manner.

'I won't let you take her..' Hercules snarled aggressively at the golden-flamed godling who kinked a brow unimpressed by this threat as the hero whipped out his sword.

'Uh-huh, yeh, and since I'm a god how do you plan to stop me?' Thanatos responded casually as the middle-aged hero looked as though he were preparing to take down some vile beast… which merely came across as mildly entertaining to the immortal death incarnate. Thanatos then stretched his fingers over the unconscious form of Askeles and made a pulling gesture with his fingers which seemed to coax her soul right out of her body.

The hero's blue eyes widened in momentary horror as the transparent soul of Askeles shimmered brightly as it rose from her lifeless body, a thin shimmering slivery-white thread keeping her attached to her body. Her face was slightly timid as her pale blue eyes turned to the god of Death-in-training as though he were the only one she could see.

'A-Askeles..' Admetus stuttered with a mix of amazement, grief and fear, staring at the ghostly spectre of his wife but rooted to the spot by his emotions.

Hercules let out a low furious growl then charged at Thanatos with a loud angry roar. The fiery godling only sighed exasperated and slapped his head wearily..

'Aw c'mon… do we really have to do this?' Thanatos drawled with disbelief… why did this so-called 'true-hero' think he could defeat death itself? Then when Hercules showed no sign of letting up the golden-flamed godling merely rolled his eyes with an 'if I must' sense of reluctance before vanishing for the split-second his mortal cousin tried to dive for him.

Hercules cried out in shock as the God of Death-in-training vanished seconds before he could grab him causing the hero to crash into the wall behind him, knocking many scrolls off of their shelves and rain down on him.

'Ow.' Hercules rubbed his head as the scrolls dropped and scattered.

'Face it Hercules, you don't have the power to stop me..' Thanatos sounded in a low reprimanding tone as he reappeared and turned to face the hero laid out on the floor. Smirking down at the look on the hero's face as he remained on the floor before turning back to the soul of Askeles.

'Am I dead?' She asked the god softly as he turned back to her.

'Not yet toots but I'm workin' on that..' Thanatos drawled casually then reached out for her silvery lifeline and pulled it closer to him, measuring out her lifespan. As the God of Death-in-training measured out her life inch by inch the mortal son of Zeus got back on his feet.

'I don't have the power to stop you but I know someone who might..' Hercules declared while jabbing a finger rudely at the golden-flamed god before him.

Thanatos, who was now clutching his scythe near the curved blade so he could slice the exact spot where her life would end, paused then turned his head to face Hercules once more with a jaded expression, clearly unaffected by his threat.

'_Father! I need your assistance.._' Hercules called out loudly to the ceiling.. He had not summoned Zeus for over thirteen years and it did feel bizarre calling out for aid from his father but what choice did he have?

Thanatos groaned with annoyance as he did this.

'Oh _yehhh_.. Now I see what our hero is made of..' The golden-flamed godling's voice drawled sarcastically as his eyes remained narrowed, he let go of Askeles' lifeline and straightened slightly. '-when the chips are down ya just call for your daddy! Well ya know what _Dork_ules… two can play that card..' Thanatos smirked smugly before he lent back and bellowed at the top of his lungs..

'_DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!~!_'

* * *

…_On Olympus…_

Zeus was relaxing with Hera on a nimbus cloud on the highest canopy of their cloudy domain. The lilac-skinned Queen of the Gods was spooned opposite him basking with a healthy lilac tan and glowing pink aura, she was munching on a terracotta bowl of red grapes as her husband was casually scanning the lands below them.

'It's so nice to finally get a moment to ourselves isn't it dear..' The golden-skinned god sounded warmly to his wife.

'Hmmm..' Hera hummed in agreement as she set the bowl aside and prepared to bask in Apollo's warm sunrays. Everything was nice and peaceful until..

'_Father! I need your assistance.._'

'That sounded like Hercules..' Hera sounded, instantly sitting up from her chez-lounge and peering worriedly down at Gaia's surface.

'And it sounds like he's in trouble..' Zeus instantly stood up on the cloud frowning.

'Then what are you waiting for?' Hear asked him. 'Go to him..'

'But we promised we wouldn't get involved for Hyllos' sake..' Zeus countered her words.

'I don't think he would call if it wasn't a dire emergency, do you?' Hera frowned at her husband slightly annoyed.

'Oh alright, alright… you've gotta point there.' Zeus responded before vanishing into white light with a disembodied voice. 'I'll be back as soon as I can Hera, don't move..'

'I wasn't planning to..' Hera responded casually then lent back on her chez-lounge to soak up the sun.

* * *

…_At the exact same moment in the Underworld…_

Hades frowned concerned at his eleven year old daughter as he slumped into his throne.

'Alright Mel, just how long have ya been able to charm the souls outta the Styx?' The fiery Lord of the Dead asked his pale-blue-skinned daughter, his eyes scrutinizing her firmly. He had just caught her singing her little sister a lullaby with a group of stiffs in a trance-like state enjoying the song outside Macaria's bedroom window. Melinoe glanced at her white-skinned mother who was sat also looking concerned from her side of the two-seater throne. Persephone had just returned from her duties in the Elysian Fields and she too had had no idea her daughter was blessed with such a 'gift'.

'I don't know..' Melinoe shrugged with an air of bemusement. '-as long as I could sing, I guess..' She broke off thoughtfully placing a slim finger to her navy lips. '-when I'm on the surface with Hecate they find me when I'm singing and follow me back here.'

'Wait, Hecate _knew?_' There was a look of pain in Persephone's green eyes as she uttered this, even her own servant had known before her. Melinoe squirmed guiltily under her mother's hurt look but didn't respond.

'Why didn't ya tell us, we're your _parents_ for Erebus' sake..' Hades snapped moodily, his flames switching white with fury.

'What difference would it make if I did!' Melinoe snapped back just as moodily, her hair whipping up in some unfelt updraft. 'I'd still be cooped up in this place! I don't even have a _job_ down here, I just 'fill in' for you when your busy or can't be _bothered_..' The eleven year-old's lip curled with disgust as she practically spat her last word out venomously then turned away from her father, folding her arms and pouting.

Both Hades and Persephone blinked at their daughter in shock.

'Ahh, _bluebird_..' Hades finally crooned gently, his flames returning blue as his expression softened. '-is that what this is about?' Melinoe sighed heavily at this point, her electric blue hair slowed as she calmed herself.

'Sweetie, if you want your divine rights, that's fine, but you have to tell us about these kind of 'gifts' or how can we help you find the right job?' Persephone sounded in a soothing tone, smiling at her daughter.

'So you'll give me a proper job instead of just making me cover for you?' Melinoe responded hopefully looking at her parents and immediately Persephone's blonde head turned to her husband as he mused on the subject.

'It's your call sweet-flames, whatta you say?' The Queen of the Dead smiled at him sweetly.

'_Well_… I was waitin' for ya to be a little older Mel cause I didn't wanna destroy your childhood like I had to do to Than's..' Hades then shrugged with casual dismissal before carrying on with a wide smirk to his daughter. '-but hey, ya know what? If it's what'cha really want baby girl then leave it with me and I'll get back to ya once I find an openin', 'kay?'

'You promise?' Melinoe asked with a slight smile twitching the edges of her lips.

'For you bluebird, I Swear by the Styx..' Hades crooned with a wide smirk to his daughter.

'Thanks dad..' The pale-blue goddess sounded gently before turning to the stairwell to the Styx then disappeared looking rather pleased with herself.

The moment his daughter had disappeared the arms of Persephone wrapped themselves around his chest and pulled him into a tight embrace, her cherry lips kissing his cheek.

'Oh, your such a good father..' Persephone swooned, laying her head against his shoulder.

'Meh, what can I say, I gotta great role-model..' The fiery god responded as his arm curled around his wife's waist, his mind drifting briefly onto his shadowy father Erebus. The next second their peaceful embrace was interrupted with a loud bellow.

'_DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!~!_'

'Oh-hoh!' Hades sounded with a smirk, instantly recognising the sound of his son's voice. 'Sorry babe but looks like I'm gonna be on a parentin' role tonight..' The fiery god hauled himself out of his side of the seat then pushed his face into his wife's. '-now gimmie some schmooze before I blaze sugar..' He purred before pushing his lips to his wife's, sharing a single passionate smooch with her before errupting into a tower of flames and vanishing out to see what his son wanted…

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Ok first things first peepz, I am so sorry about the huge delay in posting this chapter, my AC adapter for my notebook died on me, forcing me to be on hiatus until a new one arrived. I would just like to say a huge GET IN to my dad for getting me a new one delivered within the space of a few days… we're all grateful! XP_

_In celebration of reaching 200 reviews, I'm well aware I'm posting this early but I have confidence in my reviewers coming through for me, I'm posting a side one-shot with this chapter entitled: Macaria… Go to Bed!~! This little ficcy, as you can guess, is based around Macaria but has a direct link to the last part of this chapter… so all the missing details are in it for you and is dedicated for everybody who is a part of this story.._

_I know I've left this on a bit of a cliff-hanger but tune in for Zeus and Hades' reaction to this tangled mess soon…_

_~Ditzy x_


	42. The Resurrection of Askeles,,

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**Shannon: Oh, they're such big babies, aren't they? X**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: Lol, Maca is a scary version of your sister, unlucky! And I'll try to write some more Mel soon but the next chapter is mostly about Thanatos being an evil-little-death-deity. X**_

_**DisneyPrincess: Interesting? It's been a nightmare to write but I hope you like it! Firstly no, Than only planned to take one of them, though which one it was I don't think he cared. To answer your question from 'Macaria Go To Bed' no, 'gloomy little bluebird' had nothing to do with what Hades called Meg. Hades called his daughter 'Gloom' anyway and 'bluebird' was a name from Kingdom of Hearts he gave to some girl called Aqua with blue hair (I don't know anything about that just thought the name was cute). X**_

_**LuciferArchangelHadesThanatos: Cool name! ;) But you might be a little disappointed with this, however if your looking for scheming and a seriously dark chapter the next one might be right up your street! X **_

* * *

_'Hateful to me as the gates of Hades is the man who hides one thing in his heart and speaks another' ~Homer~_

_This quote is a hint to the story peeps ;)_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Forty-Two:****The Resurrection of Askeles..**

…The next moment a flash of bright white light momentarily lit up the dark study of King Admetus before it dimmed to reveal the bright golden aura, bronze-tanned body and flowing white hair of Zeus. Hercules' face lit up at the sight of his estranged father, his subterranean cousin Thanatos rolled his golden eyes before they narrowed as he folded his arms tightly. In truth the mortal son of Zeus had not expected his father to actually appear, his father had a policy of not showing his face to mortals unless they were special circumstances… apparently this was one of those moments.

'Son!' Zeus declared brightly, his sky blue eyes instantly lighting up at the sight of his own offspring. 'Long time no see kiddo, how's the family?'

'They're fine dad but-' Hercules began, looking a little embarrassed by his father's idle chit-chat since this really wasn't the time or place for it.

'Yeh, I hate to break up this touchin' little reunion..' Thanatos' impolite drawl cut over the rest of Hercules' words and caused both hero and King of the Gods to turn in unison to the subterranean teenager. Zeus instantly glowered at the sight of his least favourite nephew though Thanatos continued unaffected by this. '-but if you two losers don't mind, I gotta lifeline to _slice_.' The fiery godling then grabbed the silvery lifeline attached to the soul of Askeles causing her to gasp.

'I told you, _you can't have her!_' Hercules frowned deeply at his cousin as he pulled on the lifeline teasingly, but before he could take more than a few steps a burst of flames blocked his path. Hades instantly appeared out of them wearing a wide-fanged smirk.

'Hah, am I tardy to the party?' He declared brightly in his usual upbeat air.

'_Hades_..' Zeus sounded stunned yet slightly irritated at the same time as his younger subterranean brother appeared. In response the blue-flamed Lord of the Underworld blinked and took in the sight of his golden-tanned 'biological' brother, though any sibling affection towards him was entirely imitated. A slight scowl appearing across his face instantly putting a damper on Hades' previous good mood.

'Well, well…what drags ya down from your cloudy comforts _Bolt_ Boy, or didja just fancy mingling with the low-lives for a change, _hmm_?' The fiery god's smile reappeared as he threw a twisted smirk in Zeus' direction.

'For your information Hades..' Zeus sounded rudely, folding his thick muscled arms tightly across his bronzed chest and lilac chiton. '-my son Hercules was _just_ about to tell me why he summoned me here before your _insolent brat _over there interrupted him.' The golden god's large finger pointed directly towards Thanatos, who instantly let go of Askeles' lifeline again causing the soul to sigh with relief..

'You wanna know why you're here Bolt-for-Brains?' The golden-flamed teenager stepped forwards to his massive uncle and glared the darkest glower he could muster. Zeus scowled back just as threateningly at his words. 'You're here because _this mortal maggot_-' Thanatos hollered as his slim white finger jabbed towards Hercules. '-doesn't seem to understand that separating souls from their mortal coils is my job _and there's nothing he can do about it!_' The last part of this sentence the fiery godling roared right in his mortal cousin's face causing the hero to wince and waggle a finger in his ear to get rid of the after-ringing.

'He wants to kill an innocent life father!' Hercules suddenly sounded, turning to Zeus and throwing him a determined look. 'As a hero I can't let him do it.'

'Oh my days, this is so great on so many levels..' Hades instantly sounded with light amusement before chuckling to himself for a few moments. Zeus frowned at the blue fiery god before the Lord of the Dead continued in a jovial voice. '-he actually thinks he can defeat death. Well, hate to break it to ya Wonder Boy, but Apollo and I have a deal.'

'You do?' Zeus sounded concerned before leaning forward and seizing Hercules by the upper arm and tugging him backwards gently. 'Hercules can I have a word with you..' He them pulled his mortal son a little way away so they could talk in private.

'Son, I know your intentions are good but there really isn't a lot I can do in situation like this. The realm of the dead is Hades' domain and if he and Apollo have an arrangement then I'm afraid it must be honoured.' The golden-tanned god sounded sympathetically.

'You mean there's nothing we can do for them?' Hercules sounded sadly, gesturing to the royal couple as Admetus held his wife's lifeless body looking almost as broken as Askeles' soul was gazing at her living husband glumly.

'Hmmm..' Zeus stroked his white beard thoughtfully as he mused on this for a moment. '-there must be something we can do, I can't see the Fates bringing us here like this if there's not..' The golden god considered this dilemma for a further moment before a smile broke his face and he straightened…

* * *

…As Zeus and Hercules were talking Hades turned to his own son and kinked a brow at the juvenile golden-flamed god.

'Havin' a little trouble with the yutz-in-silver-chiton kiddo?' The blue-flamed God of the Dead smirked widely as he folded his arms. Hades had been wondering how long it would be before a troublesome hero was going to cross his son's path… the fact that it was Jerkules that crossed it only sweetened the deal. It meant that _for once _he was finally holding all the cards instead of Zeus.

'I wasn't until this _schlub_ decided to call in the Big Bolts..' Thanatos sighed heavily before frowning and gesturing to his least favourite uncle. Being up against a stubborn Zeus would be suicide, and with Thanatos' criminal record he was grateful that suicide was strictly prohibited by Underworld Law..

'Hey, no sweat Than, this is what daddies do, bail out their brats..' Hades shrugged nonchalantly his smirk twisting in amusement as he ruffed his son's golden fiery quiff.

'Bail _out_…' Thanatos sounded vaguely as his eyes clouded over, a far off look crossing his face for a moment before the fiery godling snapped back to reality. Thanatos' eyes instantly narrowed as a devious smirk twisted his mouth. 'Dad you're a freakin' genius!' The thirteen year old god declared brightly, his eyes lighting up with malice.

'Why? What just happened?' Hades threw his son a bemused look, clearly missing whatever train of thought his son was on.

'I know how to fix it so everybody gets what they want..' Thanatos grinned widely at his father. '-all we have to do is rework the deal a little.'

'Oh uh-uh, no way. A deals a deal mister, ya can't just go changin' the details, it just ain't that simple.' Hades frowned at his thirteen year old son before he lowered his face to his son's level. 'This is why _I _make the deals and you _don't_, capeesh?'

'_Daad_, I'm not talking about changing the deal!' Thanatos sounded with a slightly irritated edge. 'It's still going to be honoured, Apollo just failed to specify _who _to substitute and _when_ they die..'

For a long moment Hades merely stared at his son for a long moment as if seeing the boy plainly for the first time.

'_Than.._ that is, like, pure evil _genius!_' The blue-flamed god finally declared brightly, suddenly on his son's wave-length. 'Seriously brat, ya could give me a run for my drachmas thinkin' like that..'

'Well mom says I get it from you.' Thanatos couldn't help but smirk widely, compliments from his father were rare and usually followed with some kind of flattery to keep him sweet..

* * *

…Zeus returned his focus to his youngest brother and straightened.

'Hades, is there any way you can honour this deal with Apollo _without_ killing this mortal's wife, I'm sure you of all gods understand the pain of being separated from a spouse.' The golden tanned Lord of Olympus sounded airily and his self-righteous face made Hades want to glare at him. However the fiery Lord of the Dead kept his face light and friendly despite his inner mind pounding with repressed anger… _Only because your stupid decree forces my wife to work on the surface for six months of the year.._

'_Hmmm_..' Hades pretended to mull over his options. '-unfortunately for you _Zeus,_ I can't just turn my back on this because that would mean I'm down a soul-' The fiery god then gestured to his offspring who was once more lancing his uncle a death glare. '-and that would really tick off the brat… _buuut_, since Apollo failed to state specifics regarding whom would substitute his _dear_ friend Admetus here..' Hades wandered idly over to the grieving mortal king and patted his head with false affection. This made Admetus glance round in alarm and scoot away with his wife's lifeless body still cradled in his arms. '-I'm sure we could come to some _arrangement_.' Hades grinned wickedly as his fingertips touched in front of his chest.

'Father, don't. Hades will find a way to trick them-' Hercules started but was cut off by the fiery God of the Dead who glared.

'Now, now, I've always been a god of my word!' Hades sounded sharply, reprimanding the hero before his eyes sought out Zeus. 'Isn't that right bro?'

'It is one of your more redeeming qualities, yes Hades.' The King of the Gods responded causing Hades to blink with shock.

''Redeeming qualities'? Yeesh, ya make me sound like a Titan..' The blue fiery god rolled his eyes as he muttered this to himself before letting Zeus' words slide.. _this time_.

'Well Hades, what do you have in mind?' The golden tanned Lord of Olympus enquired, curious but wary at the same time as he had heard rumours about his brother's shady wheelings and dealings.

Both Hades and Thanatos exchanged a smirk as their eyes locked and shared a mischievous glint.

'Go get 'em H-Man.' The God of Death-in-training sounded winking, reaching up and smacking his father affectionately on the shoulder.

'Heh, shut up boy..' Hades chuckled lightly before turning to Zeus, his light-hearted expression vanishing and instantly replaced by a strict business demeanour. 'Alright Zeusy, here's my offer. I'll revive the mortal's squeeze but the terms of substitution still stand, _someone_ is still gonna have to kick the bucket in the place of the royal jerk over there.' The God of the Dead's golden eyes narrowed as a horrible edge curved his smirk.

'Now wait just a minute.' Zeus frowned at his younger brother. 'You expect me to just pick someone to sacrifice?' The golden-tanned Lord of Olympus looked revolted by this very suggestion. Human sacrifice was frowned upon these days, ever since both Athena and Artemis had lobbied against such barbaric acts Olympian Gods only accepted animal sacrifices… Artemis still wasn't happy about this but the majority of gods would not stoop to mere vegetable sacrifices.

'Hey, it's either that or Than whacks the royal broad,' Hades casually gestured to Askeles before his smirk twisted horribly towards his elder 'biological' brother. '-it's your call Bolt Boy… take your time.' The blue fiery god then whipped out a cigar and put it to his lips, lighting it and taking a few casual drags, letting his gold eyes wander around the dark study as if he were giving his brother a chance to mull it over. Zeus looked at Hades' relaxed expression as he considered the Lord of the Dead's proposal… he couldn't believe that he was actually considering this, but what choice did he have?

'Father..' Hercules , who had been following the discussion avidly, interjected at this point. His blue eyes shining with concern up at his father. '-you can't just offer them someone like a sacrificial lamb, that's a human life your going to end, how could you live with yourself knowing you're the reason they're dying?' The middle-aged hero pleaded, reminding Zeus of a younger Athena when she had first sided with Artemis against accepting human sacrifice.

'Eh, it's easier when your not emotionally attached.' Thanatos interjected casually, twirling his scythe airily around his fingers like an over-sized baton. Hercules merely scowled at his words though he didn't get a chance to retort to them as the King of the Gods sighed heavily.

'I'm sorry son.' Zeus responded to Hercules' words as though his fiery nephew had never spoken at all. Not that Thanatos cared, he much preferred the 'freeze' treatment to the usual sneering remarks he got off his cloud-dwelling uncle. 'But if you want to save this couple somebody's going to have to die in his place.'

'But-' Hercules sounded before his immortal father cut him off.

'Son, as a hero you must understand that you can't save everybody.' The Ruler of Olympus sounded, admiring his son's spirit while pitying it at the same time… his son's naivety was one of his biggest weaknesses.

'Yeh, and you'd be stupid to try and cheat Death anyway.' Thanatos quipped in causing both Zeus and Hercules to turn their blue eyes to him and frown simultaneously. '_I _always get my mark.' The fiery godling smirked smugly gesturing to himself..

'Don't you have anything constructive to say?' Zeus sounded sharply, getting irritated by his fiery nephew's upbeat attitude towards death… for a deity who was supposed to represent bereavement he was _far_ too cheerful.

'Well I did have a solution to fixing this little conundrum, but if that's your attitude I think I'll just keep it to myself..' Thanatos sounded snootily, folding his arms across his chest and turning away.

Zeus made an irritable noise in the back of his throat as he tried to suppress his annoyance towards his nephew. Ever since he'd first been caught of guard by Thanatos' little burning skeleton trick, Zeus had had a bad feeling about the weedy son of Hades. Then when the Fates had informed him that he was to be death incarnate the King of the Gods found his worst fears had finally been realised. His insecurities about his nephew had increased since Thanatos received his devine purpose, Zeus knew it was only a matter of time before the fiery godling became aware of one of his most vulnerable weaknesses…

…_Hercules_.

When Zeus had first allowed Hercules to become mortal he knew that his son was turning his destiny over to the Fates. The boy had chosen to live as a mortal and even though his entrance into Olympus was assured the great hero could not return until he departed earth in the same manner other mortals did… by dying. This had been fine when it had been the Fates in charge of destiny but now that Atropos was semi-retired, only dictating _when_ mortals died and not _how_, the King of the Gods was less confident about Hercules' chances of avoiding a gruesome end.. Since he had made little, if any, conscious effort to get to know his subterranean nephew, and the feeling was more than mutual on Thanatos' part, he did not know how the God of Death-in-training would 'take care' of Hercules when his time came…

'You have a solution?' Hercules sounded hopefully, his voice bringing Zeus back to the present and feel another bubble of pity for his son, always trying to see the best in others… even when it wasn't there.

'Err, son, I don't think it's wise to ask that..' Zeus sounded lightly with the barest hint of a stern edge. '-he is Death after all.'

Hercules blinked slightly surprised by his father's lack of cooperation while Thanatos frowned slightly offended. Hades meanwhile continued to puff his cigar at a leisurely pace pretending to be interested in one of the tapestries on the far wall while really listening into the conversation going on behind him.

'But father, if we don't take a leap of faith every now and again, in what sense are we human?' Hercules reasoned with his father and Zeus couldn't help but sigh.

'Oh alright, alright… I'll try, for you son..' Zeus relented sounding affectionately towards his mortal son. Thanatos, who had been watching this sickening display of father/son affection, rolled his eyes then smirked widely at his cousin.

'Let me choose the new substitute..' Thanatos responded lightly.

'What?' Hercules threw Thanatos a bemused look.

'You were saying son..' Zeus sounded softly in his son's ear, a smirk of amusement appearing on his large pink lips. He knew the fiery God of Death-in-training was up to something underhanded.

'Excusie moi?' Hades' voice suddenly sounded from behind his son stubbing out his cigar, the blue fiery God of the Dead too had whipped his head around confused, unable to pretend he wasn't listening anymore. He had thought originally Thanatos just meant to exchange the soul of Askeles with some other mortal jerk in the king's palace. 'Did I just hear you correctly brat?'

'Ya did indeed daddy-o..' Thanatos' fiery head snapped around so his wide-fanged smarmy grin was facing his subterranean father. The teen-godling's expression suddenly switched to a slightly more sombre business-like look as he addressed the group. 'There was nothing in the deal that was made with Apollo stating the soul had to die right now.. Let me pick the soul to replace Admetus, you won't know who it is, when or _how_ their gonna die but I Swear by the Styx, you'll know when they have… whatta ya say?' Thanatos' golden eyes narrowed with devious pleasure as Hades' brow kinked intrigued by his son's words. Zeus threw his mortal son an apprehensive look as the greatest hero in all of Greece mulled over his cousin's pitch. Hercules then threw Thanatos an anxious grimace.

'Is someone likely to get hurt?' He asked unsurely, he didn't want to see anyone get hurt.

'Heh, that's just a risk your gonna have to take Jerkules.' Hades responded smartly causing Thanatos' smirk to twist with delight towards his father as the blue fiery god whipped around to him with a proud smirk. 'And Than, may I just say… _nice _pitch kiddo, lovin' the angle. And ya sounded almost as slick as your old man..'

'Hey, what can I say? I learn from the best.' The golden-flamed teen-god beamed widely at his father.

'Boom.' Hades smirk widened as his gold eyes narrowed, his son knew just how to flatter him.

'What do you think father?' Hercules sounded unsurely to his immortal father and the golden-tanned god rolled his eyes upwards mulling over Thanatos' words.

'I think if you want to save this couple Hercules, it's the best offer we're going to get from them.' the Lord of Olympus eventually replied.

'You really think so?' Hercules sounded still hesitant about what was being offered.

'Yes, at least this way we don't have the burden of picking out a substitute.' Zeus grinned widely as if hoping his son would be charmed by this.

'But what if they suffer a really agonizing death?' The middle-aged hero sounded in a worried tone.

'Why do ya care, huh? Chances are ya won't even know the yutz!' Hades sounded incredulously. 'And hey, at least this way those two lovebird can dance, schmooze, kiss, whatever and carry on happy, now whatta ya say c'mon..' Hades shrugged his shoulders and threw his nephew a persuasive look.

Hercules bit his bottom lip nervously still unsure.

'Look, the brat and I are kinda runnin' behind schedule so we need an answer _now!_' Hades eventually flared a soft exasperated orange shade, his impatience getting the better of him. 'Going once..' The fiery god lifted a digit with a smirk. '-going twice..' A second digit appearing.

'_Alright_..' Hercules finally sounded, closing his eyes tightly as he gave in to his subterranean relatives, he had a horrible feeling he was going to end up regretting this deal..

'Well Hades, looks like we have an accord..' Zeus sounded amiably holding out his large golden hand towards his subterranean brother.

'Pleasure doin' business with ya bro..' The blue fiery god's eyes were hooded lazily as he accepted Zeus' handshake warmly, their joined hands errupting with bight yellow sparks as their powers were like two positively charged ions meeting. As soon as the handshake was broken both immortal brothers shook their wrists instinctively to get rid of the tingling sensation in their fingers as each father turned back to their respective son.

'Don't feel too bad son..' Zeus smiled at his mortal son, Hercules still looked pretty down about the whole thing. '-you did a noble thing protecting this couple and I'm sure they'll be forever grateful.' Hercules smiled slightly cheered by this, still feeling bad for this new unnamed soul that now had to take Admetus' place.

'Thanks..' The middle-aged hero responded gratefully.

'Now I must be going, I'll give Hera your love, take care of your family son..' Zeus sounded warmly, patting his son on the shoulder and vanishing out in a flash of light.

'Goodbye father..' Hercules responded lightly, turning his bright blue eyes to the stars outside the window of the study.

At the same moment Hades moved towards Thanatos and the teenage godling smirked widely, backing away from the soul of Askeles who's transparent blue-tinted head snapped around to the blue fiery god.

'My Lord..' She bowed respectfully towards him before carefully raising her pale blue eyes which were just a shadow of what they once were in life. '-is it really my time?' Her voice was soft and timid, as though she feared what might be waiting for her in the afterlife.

'Not today toots..' Hades responded gently with a wide-fanged smirk. '-consider this a _near_ death experience.' Before the soul could even react to such an announcement from the King of the Dead Hades snapped his fingers and in a vacuum of bright blue Askeles soul was sucked back into her body..

* * *

In Admetus' arms Askeles' pale blue eyes flew open and the Queen of Pherae gasped out loud as her lungs refilled with air, the sudden jolt of her heart starting to beat again causing her to bolt upright into a sitting position. For a long moment Admetus merely looked at her in bewilderment and shock, he had been so sunk in his grief that the conversation between gods had been completely missed.

'Askeles?' He murmured in surprise as his wife's chest heaved as the Queen of Pherae tried to restore her breathing. Her mussed up golden-brown head turned to his face her husband, her beautiful pale blue eyes gazing at him with happiness the moment they took in his features. 'My darling Askeles, _your alive_..' He exclaimed enthusiastically, taking her face in his hands and beaming widely, tears threatening to prick his grey eyes.

'_Admetus_..' Askeles sounded breathlessly with pent-up emotion as joy filled her heart, she was so relieved to be part of the living again. Her pale arms flung themselves around her husband as the pair embraced with tears of happiness and relief.

'_Aww_, that's nice..' Hades crooned unable to help the wide smirk that twisted his features. '-ain't that nice Than?'

'Sickeningly so dad..' His golden-flamed son grimaced with revulsion before pulling out a scroll from his black-robe pocket. '-now if you'll excuse me I'm late for another appointment.' Then the teenage God of Death-in-training vanished out into a swirl of shadowy darkness.

Hades merely rolled his eyes in response to Thanatos' lack of empathy, there was a time once when he would have reacted in exactly the same way.. He pitied his son. Then without a further word to anyone the blue-flamed Lord of the Dead vanished in a puff of black smoke, wondering if his own wife was still awake…

Hercules only blinked astonished at what he had just witnessed… wondering if compassion was a new side to Hades or if it had been buried deep within him all along. The hero then shook himself violently rousing him back to the present then suddenly feeling very awkward when he realised it was now just him and the reunited royal couple who were kissing compassionately on the floor. After a few moments of letting them kiss each other grateful to be back together again the great hero coughed into his fist and the Rulers of Pherae broke apart, both looking slightly abashed as they scrambled to their feet.

'_Hercules_..' Admetus sounded flashing the hero a thankful and slightly worshipful gaze. '-you saved my wife from death!'

'_I did..?_' The middle-aged hero sounded in shock, barely able to believe what he was hearing though the more he thought about it the more he realised it was true. His father had only really been there to support him, taking on a more advisory position and letting him determine the deal. 'I did, didn't I..' Hercules sounded in wistful admiration of himself before pulling himself together and putting on his professional hero face. 'I-I mean, there's no need to thank me your majesties, it was nothing.'

'It was _not_ nothing Hercules. It was a _great_ act of heroism, _perhaps your greatest to date!_' Admetus declared loudly.

'Now dear, it wasn't _all_ Hercules, Lord Hades was the one who-' Askeles sounded reproachfully with a gentle hint, not wanting her husband to get carried away with the theatrics of her resurrection.

'_We must return to the feast and inform the others!_' Admetus bellowed joyfully over his wife, not even hearing a word she'd been trying to say. The Queen of Pherae sighed heavily, it seemed this fabled tale of heroism was going to win out.

'Very well then, let us return to the temple of Apollo.' Askeles sounded politely smiling modestly towards her husband…

* * *

'How long do you think their going to be mom?' The red-headed son of Hercules sounded anxiously, his violet eyes turning to his mother.

'I'm not sure Hyl, depends what they're discussing..' Meg responded as her own violet eyes travelled to the door the king and her husband had exited, followed by Queen Askeles who wanted to know what was keeping them.

'I bet I know what their discussing..' Iole's gentle girly voice sounded as she played with her tender lamb glumly.

'You do?' Meg sounded kinking a neatly curved brow curiously.

'Father's obsessed with finding me a 'good' husband, he's probably asking your husband if he can recommend anybody.' The Princess of Pherae replied then eventually put the forkful of meat in her mouth and chewed slowly.

'Urh, I know how you feel..' Meg responded sympathetically. 'When I was your age my father Creon tried to pressure me to marry too.'

'He did?' The pretty teenage princess' blue eyes widened in shock.

'Really?' Hyllos nearly choked on his mouthful of juice, spitting it up and staring at his mother in surprise.

'Honey, you need a napkin..' Meg chuckled in amusement at her son's spillage while passing him the piece of cloth beside her. The middle-aged brunette turned back to Iole who was now looking at her curiously.

'Yeh, he thought if he didn't find me a husband soon I'd have to join the temple of Artemis and be 'lost forever.' Meg air-quoted before sighing heavily and looking sad. 'I ran away the minute he'd found me a husband.. Just grabbed all my stuff and left.. Didn't care where I was going or what would happen to me, I just knew I didn't want to get married at that time.' She then paused before blinking and adding, 'But you shouldn't do that.. Have you tried talking to your father?' She smiled gently at the pretty golden-brown haired princess.

'N-not really..' Iole replied unsurely. '-you really think he will listen?'

'I'm sure he will, he cares about you. He just wants you to be happy.' Meg replied sweetly. 'I just wish I'd had the courage to talk to mine sooner..' The brunette replied sadly, it had been Hercules who had convinced her to reconcile with her father. Though she had to admit being engaged to Greece's golden boy at the time might have helped sway Creon into burying the hatchet..

As Iole pondered over this thoughtfully Hyllos continued to gaze at his mother.

'I didn't know Granddad did that..' He finally sounded, an apologetic hint in his tone.

'Oh, don't think too badly about him for it Hyl, it's actually quite a common thing to get betrothed in higher society..' Meg replied, recognising the same look of shock pity and slight bitterness that Hercules had worn when she'd told him about it.

'But still..' Hyllos began to counter but Meg's eyes rolled as movement from the door joining Apollo's temple to King Admetus' palace moved and Admetus, Hercules and Askeles reappeared into the room.

'Shh, shh, we'll continue this later, ok?' Meg hissed kindly as the crowds conversation lowered into murmurs before silencing as Admetus turned to the throng of guests about to address them.

'_Ladies and gentlemen!_' The King of Pherae declared brightly to all around him as his wife stood back a little with Hercules by her side, the hero's blue eyes stayed forward, resisting temptation to stray to his family a short way away..

'_A wondrous thing has just happened!_' Admetus continued brightly. '_Whether it was by devine intervention or just sheer good fortune that brought the mighty Hercules and his family here to us tonight, I don't know… but what I do know is this.. The greatest hero in all of Greece has just rescued my dear wife, and your queen, from the cold unyielding clutches of Death himself!_'

For a brief moment there was no sound, it so quiet you could here a drachma drop as everyone in the temple digested this news. Even Hyllos, Iole and Meg's eyes widened in shock, the middle-aged wife of Hercules even opened her mouth as her violet eyes had a worried hint to them. Soothsayers and bards she had spoken to, when discovering Hades had a newborn son, had all spoken of how similar Hades and his son were and in the days of being Hades' minion Meg had gotten to know the Lord of the Dead very well indeed… and if it was _him_ who had been cheated out of a soul, he would not be very impressed. He might even plot on how to get that soul _back_..

The sudden cheering of the crowd including both joyful Iole and gleeful Hyllos hollering and clapping enthusiastically brought Meg back to reality and she forced a smile as she caught her husband shrug, grinning with slight disbelief at his situation..

'_So tonight we celebrate!_' Admetus' voice hollered and the crowd's deafening cries of rapture filled the halls of Apollo.

'Way to go Wonder Boy..' She uttered with a slight shrug back, she'd get the _real _story out of him later, but they always let Greece believe whatever it wanted to… that's how legends were born…

* * *

…As the celebrations carried on long into the night the story of Hercules and Thanatos' meeting twisted and grew more new necks than the many-headed hydra once had. Now, under the drunken songs and gleeful lure twangs, the story seemed to have developed an epic struggle for the possession of Askeles' soul between Death and Hercules and then how the hero returned victorious to King Admetus with his queen alive and well.

Meg watched serenely as her husband was plied with more and more drink as her son Hyllos was gleefully listening to the story for the dozenth time. It seemed that tonight she and her family would be staying with the King and Queen of Pherae now. She doubted she'd have any chance of convincing either of her boys to go home now. Askeles had sent her servants to prepare rooms for them a little while ago but now the queen was sat away from the group looking thoughtful.

'Drachma for your thoughts?' Meg remarked as she approached the queen, her brow kinking as her lips smirked kindly.

'Hercules may have traded me for another soul but Hades was the one who brought me back..' Askeles sounded glumly. '-I feel he's being cheated out of his share of the praise, how do I make it right?' She asked Meg vaguely, not expecting any kind of answer as Hades was not a god who was thought of often.

'You could always give him a sacrifice as a show of good faith..' Meg responded lightly and the Queen of Pherae blinked in surprise as her pale blue eyes gazed at Meg.

'You can do that?' She sounded in amazement.

'Honey you can give a sacrifice to any god you want , you just have to know the right ritual.' Meg sounded amiably and Askeles' face fell slightly at this.

'And what's the right ritual?' The Queen of Pherae sounded automatically before realising what she'd just asked… but was amazed when the wife of Hercules offered her a hand.

'Come on, I'll walk you through it..' Meg sounded gently then took Askeles' hand and pulled her to her feet and the two women left unseen, leaving their husbands and children with the drunken crowd…

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey Peeps, as you can see this chapter was a real Herculian effort and it is for this reason that I am so late in updating… but it's been worth it as I wouldn't change a single detail._

_Ok a few notes to run through in this chapter, I know a few of you might be disappointed in the fact that there is no real conflict between Hades and Zeus in this bit but there will be a showdown between the gods later on, and oh yes, fireballs and thunder bolts might even play a part in it!~!_

_alright, now you all know the basic reason Zeus doesn't like Thanatos and this will be playing a crucialpart in Zeus' position later on in this fic.._

_Secondly, arranged marriages in ancient Greece were common and girls as young as thirteen (yeh, I know) were found husbands, usually someone the father knew and trusted… girls of the time did not get much say in this and it seemed like the perfect reason for Meg to run away from home. I coupled this with another myth fact that at the same age girls could be recruited into the Temple of Artemis and forever stay a maiden and so in the view of Creon (Meg's father in myth) his daughter would be lost.. I haven't done a lot of writing on Meg before this and it seemed natural to try and fit some kind of background together for her since we know so little._

_Ok, is anybody surprised that she also knows how to perform the ritual to make an Underworld sacrifice? Didn't think so, in all her time as a servant to Hades she could have learnt about it easily enough. The sacrifice ritual requires you simply to make your sacrifice in the dead of night and instead of collecting the blood you let it drain into the ground… it's more like a blood sacrifice as Hades claims the animal's soul rather than the meat which is the case with Olympain gods.._

…_Stay tuned for Thanatos' first ever prophecy! Coming soon…_

_~Ditzy X_

_P.S. I am working on a picture of Little Mac just now but in the meantime there is a picture of a teenage Persephone from before she and Hades were dating up on my deviantart profile (the link is on my profile page here) if you want to check her out along with the little blurb that goes along with it! Comments are gratefully accepted, good or bad.. X_


	43. Impending Doom on the Horizon

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**Stay70573: Whoop, whoop! Welcome back! Nice to know your still keeping up! And yup, this is it… the story is perking up now! X**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: Hmmmm… well this chap will make some things pretty obvious and a little hint: the story might start darkening down a little soon X**_

_**DisneyPrincess: Haha, Than really can negotiate can't he, but ultimately it's Hades who closes deals! And this chap will make things a little more clear for you.. Glad you like the story so far X**_

_**Anon: Wow, thank you! Glad that I can entertain someone who's done a few classes on the subject, I haven't done any, just know what I've learnt from books and the net. Thanks for the heads up on arranged marriages, I knew a little about it but appreciate the notes X**_

_**Vikishus: Lol, I love your entusiasm in this review, I get the feeling you were bouncing in your seat at some point! Than and Hades have a really close relationship and it will be key in the closing section of this story. And thank you, you have no idea how hard it is to keep track of everybody and how their supposed to feel (it drives me insane sometimes) X**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Forty-Three:****Impending Doom on the Horizon**

When Hades appeared into the large bedroom suite he shared with his wife he found Persephone snoozing in their large sleigh bed, the discarded scroll by her side showed she'd tried to stay awake for his return to no avail. The blue-flamed god let a soft smirk curve his lips as he snapped his fingers making his day-time chiton and toga combo vanish and be replaced with his navy blue night-chiton with two silver skull pins. He then perched on his side of the bed and rested an arm just on the other side of Persephone's middle, his eyes narrowing as he gazed at her sleeping form. Her bright blonde hair was strewn across the pillow, tangled around her shoulder and covering the lacy bust of her little black night-chiton. The dark bed-sheets had slipped at some point during her snooze and were pooled around the narrowest section of her waist. Almost as if her unconscious self knew he was there the white-skinned goddess let out a soft sighing moan and turned onto her back so she was now facing him, still sleeping. Taking this as a sign that she wasn't in a deep sleep the fiery god then leant forwards until he was inches from her ear.

'_Sephy_… wakey, wakey my sweet..' His voice crooned gently in her ear causing the goddess' cherry lips to part slightly as her thick eyelashes fluttered lightly.

'_Uhh… Hades?_' Persephone's groggy voice sounded as her green eyes flickered, on the verge of opening. The white-skinned goddess turned sleepily in the direction of her husband's voice only to find her lips covered in a smouldering kiss, her eyes instantly stopped fluttering as she surrendered to her husband's calculated move. Persephone responded as her arms rose weakly from the bed and wrapped themselves around Hades' neck, the fingers on the back of his neck teased the back of his flames sluggishly. She felt his long fingers pull the covers up and around himself as the fiery god then snuggled himself up against Persephone, only then breaking the kiss.

The blonde Goddess of Life's bright green eyes fluttered open and she pulled herself up slightly so she was now propped up by on arm and facing her husband as Hades leant against his two large pillows propped up against the black headboard.

'_Oh wow…_' Persephone sounded distracted in a breathless voice before her brain kicked itself back in gear.. 'What happened with Than?' Her brows knitted into a concerned frown, hoping her son had not gotten himself in serious trouble, _again_. The last thing they needed was more grief from Zeus..

'Ahh, it was nothin' babe, he just needed a little backing from the old man..' Hades' golden eyes narrowed as he flashed her a wide smirk. He had decided not to enlighten her about their little deal with Zeus. Persephone would most likely fly off the handle if she learnt that her pyroboys had been bartering with the Lord of Olympus. She didn't like how much Zeus interfered with their lives as it was.

'_So_… the problem's fixed then?' Persephone blinked at her husband's statement before smiling hopefully towards her flamed-haired consort.

'Yup, there is nothin' for you to worry your pretty little head about-' He patted her blonde head in a slightly condescending manner which Persephone ignored. '-so _re_-lax my sweet, the gods have this _completely_ under control..' Hades responded lightly, sinking further back into his dark spongy pillows and sighing blissfully. The pearly white-skinned goddess' eyes narrowed tenderly towards her husband as a soft smile tweaked her lips. She could always count on her husband to come through for their children. Persephone then lowered her head to Hades' chest and snuggled herself into his body's toasty heat.. As she closed her eyes to listen to his soft breathing and steady heartbeat Persephone felt the long fingers of her husband snare themselves in her long blonde hair.

'Seph..' Hades' voice broke the serene silence, the fiery god did not have his eyes closed, instead they were clouded with thought as his mind wandered over the bravery of Askeles.

'_Hmmm_.._?_' Persephone hummed her response, the tips of her fingers sliding up and down his chest in a tantalizing manner.

'I met this really interesting chick when I was out..' The blue-flamed god mused thoughtfully, without considering the impact his choice of words might have on his wife… and predictably Persephone stiffened, opened her eyes to scowl and raised herself up to look at her husband, the edges of her hair threatening to burst into flame.

'_Oh._' The snide tone of Persephone's voice made the fiery god blink then take in his wife's stony look… instantly realising his mistake and chuckling at his wife's suspicion Hades instantly stroked her cheek with the long bony fingers of his free hand.

'Hey, whoa, whoa… not _that_ kind of interesting babe.' Persephone instantly softened at this, her frown melting away and she settled back down onto his chest. Her fingers running up and down his chest once more as she let her husband's words wash over her. 'It was the wife of that Admetus-yutz-'

'Oh, isn't he the friend of Apollo's that you made the deal with Artemis about a week ago?' Persephone interrupted at this point, her brows kinking upwards curiously.

'Yup, that's the one babe… anyway, this Askeles-chick was so desperate to protect her husband from Than that she offered herself up for substitution.'

'Really?' Persephone's neat eyebrows contracted with surprise. 'Wow… whatta great wife.'

'I thought so too… when she eventually carks it she is definitely headin' straight to Elysium..' The blue-flamed god sounded amiably causing Persephone to blink confused.

'Wait a minute..' She sounded puzzled lifting her head off of his chest again. '-she didn't die for him? Does that mean he's dead?'

'Huh? _Nahhh_..' Hades waved his hand dismissively to his wife, smirking at her bemused expression. '-Than's gonna find another substitute for them.'

'_Oh_..' Persephone's face beamed with understanding and she smiled sweetly. '-well isn't that nice of him-' She then snuggled herself back into her husband, sliding her arms around him. '-I hope he picks someone who deserves to die.' Her voice sounded softly as she nuzzled into the nape of Hades' neck.

'I'm sure he will my sweet, I'm sure he will..' The fiery god crooned lovingly in her ear as his golden eyes rolled unseen by his wife, he almost believed his own mushy dribble.. _Yeh, right… like Than would pick someone for morally upright reasons. Since when did morals and death mix? _

* * *

'_Urh_…' Atropos groaned heavily clutching her throbbing head. '-why did you girls let that lout Bacchus ply me with drink, and _why_ did you let him believe it was my birthday... you know my birthday's not until-'

'We _know_..' Both Lachesis and Clotho cried out together.

Atropos frowned at her sisters but didn't respond as she knew where this would go.

'Did I at least cut the mortal's thread..' The Fate of the Inevitable asked, laying her heavy head wearily in her hand.

'You cut this pig's thread dear..' Lachesis sounded lightly lifting the thread she had held out to her inebriated sister earlier.

'Oh…' Atropos groaned in disbeleif and shook her head, which was still in her palm. '-I _can't_ believe I let you two trick me again..' The lilac-skinned Fate uttered weakly as she scowled at her sister's haughty smirks. They were always so darn-smug when they out-smarted the Fate in charge of the Future..

'Oh will you relax Atropos..' Lachesis sounded jauntily she placed a thick gloopy hangover-cure in front of her older sister. '-what's done is done, you can't alter it now.'

'I _could_ if you two witches hadn't hidden my crochet needles..' Atropos murmured moodily then took a swig out of the cup her sister had given her.

'Quit grousing sister.' Clotho snapped, her patience was always the first to wear thin. 'What's the worst that could happen?'

The next second the joyful sound of whooping and a sudden rush of golden flames announced the arrival of the juvenile son of Hades.

'_Ah-cha-cha… _I feel so _energized!_' Thanatos declared gleefully before fist pumping with an excitable grunt and continuing, 'Have I ever told you three fabulous old babes that I love ya, cause I really do..' He threw the three sisters of destiny his most boyishly suave smirk, though none of the Fates were stupid enough to fall for it.

'Only when you want something..' Atropos responded unenthusiastically, his good mood was very grating on her in her fragile state of mind. The thirteen year old God of Death-in-training immediately swept over to Atropos, still grinning in a suave-yet-slightly-maniacal fashion.

'But I have something now..' Thanatos' smirk widened wolfishly towards the eldest fate, his voice was low and cool as he addressed her. '-thanks to your sisters, I now have my mark..' His eyes then narrowed deviously. '-and my answer on how to _hit_ Zeus where it _hurts_..'

'There will be reprisals y'know..' Atropos sounded sharply to her protégée as the Eye of Fate glared at him from her socket.

'I know..' Thanatos responded back harshly, with only enough venom to cause his flames to flicker on his cranium.

'And your parents will also be accountable for your actions since you are underage.' Clotho sounded sternly towards the teenage fiery youth as she folded her arms tightly across her chest, sniffing to prevent a spider from escaping her left nostril.

'I _know_..' Thanatos sounded sharply as his flames fluttered violently in some unfelt breeze.

'Both you and your parents have defied Zeus already, he will not go lenient on you again.' Lachesis added with an expression of concern crossing her eyeless visage.

'I don't expect him to.' Thanatos responded coldly, his fierce scowl suddenly melted to reveal a cunning twisted smirk. 'In fact, I'm counting on it..'

'Then you realise you and your family could be _banished!_' Lachesis screeched out angrily, out of all of her sisters she was the most sensitive, all the Fates held a special place in their heart for their adopted brother and his family.

'Meh, we're already considered outcasts, what's the difference?' Thanatos shrugged flippantly in response to this before grinning widely at the expressions his words had caused. 'Now I have some serious plannin' t'do because _this_ _spring_ is gonna be _verry_ _interesting_..'As Thanatos finished his chilling words the skeletal god vanished out in a swirl of black shadowy darkness, maniacal laughter ringing around the Fates' gloomy home for a few moments after he was gone before dying with its echo.

'Remember when you asked me 'what's the worst that can happen' sister?' Atropos sounded calmly to her taller blue-skinned sister. 'Well, that would be _it_..'

* * *

'_Pain…!_' The sound of the loud bellowing coming from the throne room caused the pink imp to quiver and stiffen to attention.

'_Panic…!_' The green imp looked as though he would have a stroke as this comanding yell instantly followed.

Pain and Panic threw each other a very fleeting glance before the shot down the swirling staircase towards the throne room, bolting towards the furious voice assuming that their fiery boss was royally hacked off bout something and, as usual, they'd feel the brunt of it..

However when the two imps appeared into the throne room…

'Present and accounted for-' Panic started in his usual simpering manner when Pain blinked and stopped the skinny bug-eyed imp in his path.

'_Thanatos..?_' His chubby partner's words cause Panic to actually look at the god in front of them only to be greeted by a pint-sized white-skinned version of his boss grinning back with a smug grin on his boyish face.

'_Hey.._' The green-skinned imp's bravado instantly returned the moment he realised this was not his boss. '-you don't have the authority to order us about..'

'_Don't I?_' Thanatos' face instantly flared causing only his head to irrupt into a scorching skull of flames.

'Then again… maybe ya do..' Panic uttered before diving behind his partner's large frame, intending on using Pain as a shield if Thanatos decided to smite them.

He could have smote them. And had he not actually needed them he would have. Instead the fiery god mellowed, allowing his flames to return to normal along with his skin and eyes before flashing both his father's terrified minions a winning smirk.

Both Pain and Panic kinked a brow confused. No punishment… this was new? The two imps then threw the grinning godling a suspicious look. They knew Than too well… he wanted something from them that he didn't want his father to know about.

'Alright.' Pain frowned folding his arms. 'Whadda ya want?' He questioned the infant god distrustfully.

Thanatos' smirk was instantly wiped off as a more serious and sombre look replaced it.

'Information.' The thirteen year-old godling sounded sincerely.

'On what?' Panic sounded both distrustful but slightly curious at the same time as he stepped out from behind his partner's massive frame.

'Hercules..'

The name made both Pain and Panic's brows raise higher than they'd ever risen before in their lives.

'You mean Hercules as in Hercules the son of Zeus.. A.K.A your cousin Hercules?' Pain blurted out instantly as Panic added,

'Don't you think you'd be better askin' your dad..'

'I don't need him to know about this, he'll just get in the way if he does..' Thanatos sounded in a low voice before the flames on his head flickered with irritation. Then unexpectedly he flared furious once more at the imps. 'In fact, _no-one _can find out about this… _if they do then I'll_-'

'_We swear by the Styx we won't tell!~!_' Both imps wailed as terror built up in their eyes at Thanatos' flare-up. The fiery godling scared them almost as much as his mother did when she was mad, like her, he was totally unpredictable with a temper.

'Good.' Thanatos suddenly responded brightly as his flames once again receded to normal. 'So what I want to know is-' The fiery godling suddenly broke off from his words looking at the imps as though seeing through them rather than looking at them.

Both Pain and Panic's expressions melted into pure bewilderment at this sudden halt in the fiery teen's motor and verbal faculties. He was just frozen on the spot as his golden eyes clouded over. The imps moved their heads as if hoping the godling would react soon and they could find out what it was he wanted to know about his mortal cousin that was so important to him.

Then suddenly Thanatos was surrounded in an ominous black aura that flared around his whole being, smouldering out his golden-flaming quiff and causing his features to melt away leaving behind nothing but a creepy skeleton with soulless black hollows where his golden eyes had once been. Skeletal Thanatos seemed to grin sinisterly with his pointed fangs and pearly jawbones at the imps.

Pain and Panic caught sight of each other and shrugged still looking completely mystified, neither imp had any clue what was happening and they were both getting seriously weirded out… Although Thanatos' skeletal jaws didn't move his low demonic voice seemed to vibrate through the air as if he were using some kind of telepathic link which sent his voice directly into their minds.

'…_In six moons time the deed will be done…_

…_and in the end his soul will succumb…_

…_Now it's me who controls his fate…_

…_and no-one escapes Death-incarnate…' _

A long moment of silence spiralled as Thanatos' last syllable echoed around the cavernous throne room the dark aura of the God of Death-in-training receded as hid golden flames burst around his ankles shooting upwards as his skin and eyes and flaming hair was restored.

By this point both imps were looking a little faint as they tried to digest what had just happened and the powerful divination which had just been disclosed to them..

As Thanatos' inner eye vanished and his eyesight returned to him the golden fiery god blinked and focused on the two ashen-faced minions in front of him.

'What… was it something I said?' The thirteen year-old godling sounded both slightly confused and concerned at the same time, a small smirk of disbelief curling his lips.

At this point both imps' eyes rolled back in their sockets and they collapsed on the cold stone floor tiles of the throne room…

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Ok peeps, firstly a MASSIVE apology for the ridiculous length of time I've made you wait for an update here. I've got no excuse other than life got in the way of writing… honestly, I've been off visiting people and out enjoying myself causing writing to take a backseat. I have been writing here and there but never long enough to get more than a few paragraphs written at a time._

_Anyway, thank you for your patience… your all stars.._

_Does anyone else just love the fact that even though Hades and Seph have a great relationship, the fiery god still keeps secrets from his wife? I don't know why but even when this pair see Hera and Zeus bicker they agree secrets are a bad thing, they still have them… It fascinates me, I dunno why? I suppose it adds a little realism to the situation. Though I think this might be one of those secrets that might bite Hades on the butt later, eh?_

_And as for Than's prophecy… this took a while to come up with I must admit… and, yes, it was a rhyme just like the Fates do. I sort of imagine that since Than has no Eye of Fate only he can see the images connected with his prophecy… the Fates' eye would only let him show it to others. But for the sake of the story I'm keeping the details of the 'substitutes' death to myself._

_Don't you also just love how Than can manipulate Pain and Panic just like his dad! Poor imps… it must be a cursed existence for them!_

_Stay tuned for more soon…._

_~Ditzy_


	44. Saying Goodbye to an Old Goat

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: Lol sorry about the lack of Persephone here but she'll be back soon with her daughters. And as for Pain and Panic's suffering, I have no idea on that front but you must at least agree that their lives aren't completely horrible X**_

_**DisneyPrincess: Me too! I love seeing Pain and Panic getting scared and flustered it's fun to write and read! And I hope you like this chap as it has a little of the Thanatos that takes after Persephone in it! Sometimes I forget he's her son too! X**_

_**Black Diamond07: Great to be back hun, I kinda lost sight of this fic for a bit but it was a nice break from writing. And uh I think you might've missed the prophecy… it was the four lines in italics in the last chap stating in six moons time the substitute would die.. Anyway this is one of my fav chapters you'll see why at the end! X**_

_**Vikishus: Than's manipulativeness, hmm, I wonder… could it be Hermes?-? Lol I know, it's Hades hahaha.. Oh I hope it doesn't leave a flesh wound on his money maker… what would his wife say to that? Oh yeh, you thought that was a chap… well this is a chap! Enjoy! X**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

_Warning: Fans of Phil get your tissues at the ready…_

**Chapter Forty-Four:****Saying Goodbye to an Old Goat**

As winter once more melted away into spring, taking with it the heavy business season, Hades couldn't help wondering why his favoured minions and his eldest child seemed to be spending so much time together… if he didn't know any better he'd have thought the three of them were in cahoots and plotting something..

…_But that's crazy thinkin'… completely mashuga. It's that kinda zany thinkin' that landed Cronos in Tartarus… _The fiery Lord of the Dead sighed heavily as his mind chastened himself for getting paranoid over this strange new alliance. But then the blue-flamed god also wondered why this bothered him so much… the three of them had now been working together for five years it was natural that they'd establish some kind of business relationship in that time. There was nothing sinister going on between them_… right?_

The imps swore there was nothing going on and Thanatos just threw him an oddly-debatable-look of innocence, insisting they were just discussing work… but there was something off about them that he couldn't place..

…He had no reason not to trust the three of them, the entire winter season had gone very smoothly… so smoothly in fact that Hades was ahead on his paperwork. Thanatos had been an immense help during the winter season, when he wasn't reaping souls he was found barking orders at the imps and Sirens as they scurried around making sure the New Arrivals were catalogued and sent towards the three Judges for their recommendation on Doom Service. It was the first year that Thanatos had asserted himself and really taken charge of business by the docks… and he'd excelled! The God of Death-in-training proved to be an excellent manager, not that his father had had any doubts about that in the first place, and he'd successfully managed to command the respect and admiration from the Underworld underlings, something that was very hard to achieve because most of them only took orders directly from Hades himself. And even though the old god's heart swelled with pride at his son's management skills he also felt a tiny twinge threatened by Thanatos' gift of being able to charm his father's minions into doing his own bidding…

…did this make him jealous of his son's abilities?

_Jealous, Hah!~! .._The fiery Lord of the Dead's brain scoffed to itself… _As if that's likely?_

And yet… uneasiness was still eating away at his insides and he just couldn't put his finger on exactly why..

…The fiery god summoned himself a large steaming mug of coffee, slouched back in his side of the two-seater throne he shared with his wife and pondered on the subject some more. This really was driving him crazy..

* * *

'Present and accounted for your juvenile churlishness..' Panic's simpering voice sounded causing Thanatos to smirk at his father's two most loyal minions.

'What is it you require from us today Junior Boss?' Pain added cheerily with a wide smirk, ready to please like always. After hearing Than's prophecy regarding the death of King Admetus' substitute, and once they'd regained consciousness then picked themselves up off the cold stone floor, they sensed that plotting was afoot…

…and they wanted in.

Things had definitely been quiet in the scheming department around the big basement recently, especially since Macaria had been born, quiet frankly Hades was incredibly dull these days.. He wasn't plotting to takeover the cosmos anymore, he wasn't thinking on how to boost the number of dead souls… oh no, these days he was just plain old boring Hades, the God with a Family. Although the imps liked the fact that their boss was content to stay in the Underworld with his doting family around him, they did miss the schemes. They couldn't help it, they were members of the Miseries after all, their parents were Lamia the Spirit of Sorrow and Oyzis the Spirit of Misery, hence being dubbed the 'Miseries'… it was in their tenacious natures to cause woe and suffering to others and they enjoyed doing it.

…So ever since learning that the God of Death-in-training was plotting to kill somebody the imps had been eager to help him out. Suddenly the Underworld wasn't quite so boring… and working with Thanatos reminded both imps of how things used to be before Hades had been married.

'Same as always Pain, information.' Thanatos' golden eyes narrowed slyly as his off-white fangs grinned at the two imps.

'What!-?' Pain squawked in shock.

'But we've told you everything we know about Hercules..' Panic's voice was a mixture of whining and irritation as the green imp scowled at the fiery golden-flamed god. It was true. The two lackeys of Hades had spent the entire of the winter season telling Thanatos everything they knew about Hercules… and Thanatos asked some incredibly probing questions, fishing out every tiny scrap of detail he could from their undersized brain cavities.

Thanatos snickered in amusement at the dense-duo, his smirk widening slightly making his boyish smirk look more roguish.

Both imps frowned at this… was he laughing at them?

'No..' Thanatos finally stopped sniggering and responded seriously. '-this time I want information about his trainer _Philoctetes_..' The god's golden eyes narrowed deviously.

'The goat-man?' Pain asked with disbelief.

'That's right Pain, _the goat-man.._' Thanatos' flames flickered brightly as his eyes glinted with malice.

'He was appointed the job of training Hercules by Zeus himself..' Pain started with a smirk. '-and he's fiercely loyal to Hercules.'

'Nah, nah, nah..' Thanatos shook his head roughly halting the chubby pink imp in his tracks and causing confusion to cross both imps faces. '-that's not what I'm lookin' for, I need _specific_ details, like, like..' The white-skinned godling clicked his fingers searching for the right word. '_-weaknesses!_' He declared brightly then continued. 'What kinda weaknesses does he have?'

'Well..' Panic drawled thoughtfully. '-he's a satyr so he likes to chase nymphs.'

'Err. No. Somethin' else..' Thanatos dismissed this, all satyrs did that.

'He's a little on the chubby side and can't run very fast.' Pain sounded with a wide smile and Panic threw his partner a look which was both surprised and judgementally screaming 'look who in Tartarus is talking'..

'I'm listening..' Thanatos sounded in a low voice, the imps had captured his interest now.

'And I believe he has a stomach ulcer that would be fatal if perforated-' Panic snapped out of his momentary stupor and added keenly only to be cut off.

'Stop.' Thanatos held out a hand halting him from saying any further. Suddenly the fiery god was throwing the imps a maniacal leer. '_'Fatal'_ ya say?'

* * *

'C'mon kid, concentrate or you'll loose your head!' Phil bellowed out at the red-headed boy who was practising sword fighting with a hanging sandbag.

Hyllos paused in his sword swishing and blinked back at the half-man half-goat behind him, sitting on the veranda sipping some of Meg's homemade lemonade. Hercules was stood watching from his upright position, his large muscled arms resting comfortably on the warm stone balcony. Watching Phil giving Hyllos pointers on his swordplay always made the hero smile and reminisce about his training days with the satyr… now here he was nearly twenty years later watching his own son being taught the same way.

'How can I loose my he-_oofff!_' Hyllos had not been paying attention to the swinging sandbag and it had swung around and smacked him across the back of the head mid-sentence causing his wince of pain.

'Ya just had to ask, didn't ya?' Phil groaned slightly shaking his head. Hercules too winced as his son was knocked to the floor face first in the dirt by the sandbag.

'Uh, I've been there..' The middle-aged hero sounded with sympathy before turning to his retired mentor who was still holding his forehead in disbelief. 'He's getting better..' Hercules added in an offhanded manner.

'Yeh..' Phil sighed lifting his head. '-but he'd be a _lot_ better if he didn't let himself get distracted..'

Hercules laughed affectionately at Philoctetes' words.

'Heh, sorry Phil, I guess he gets that from me..' The middle-aged hero shrugged guiltily towards his retired mentor and the satyr raised a brow with a wry smile to him. Phil hadn't changed much in the last twenty years, he was still grouchy and was still with his some-what love interest Syrinx, the only thing that had changed was the fact that now he had a muzzle of silvery hair and his goat hind was lighter in colour too.

'Heh, too right he does.' Phil sounded amiably. 'The boy's a walking disaster area..'

'Oh I'm sure Hyl isn't that bad..' The soft rich voice of Syrinx sounded as the green nymph appeared carrying a tray of grilled fish with some Caesar salad and moments later Meg appear with another tray filled with plates, a bowl of couscous with sun-dried tomatoes and feta cheese and a stack of pita bread on the side.

'Well he's not '_bad_'..' Phil responded to his luscious nymph's words. '-but there's definitely room for improvement.'

'Ah c'mon Phil..' Meg sounded as she laid out the plates for their dinner on the veranda. '-Hyl's just a kid, don't push him so hard… besides I think his clumsiness is cute.' Once she'd finished laying everything out she turned to Hyllos who was back practising with the sandbag and called. 'Hyl! Dinner's ready kiddo..'

'Ok mom..' Hyllos called back and his lapse in concentration meant he got smacked with the sandbag again. Without even wincing this time the red-headed boy picked himself up, dusted himself down and headed straight to the veranda, pulling up a chair between Phil and Meg.

'Alright, not bad kid but ya gotta remember to stay focused-' Phil started as he dished himself some salad but was cut off by Syrinx.

'Uh, uh, uh… no training talk at the table please..' The forest nymph trilled while wiggling a reprimanding finger.

'Sorry toots, force of habit.' Phil replied instantly and immediately switched the subject. 'So what's your plans for tonight?' He asked casually.

'Hah! It's Wednesday Phil..' Hercules chuckled in amusement causing Phil to kink a brow confused.

'It's wrestling night.' Meg responded grimly, answering the satyr's unasked question. Every Wednesday Hercules and his hero-in-training Alexander the Great went down to the wrestling club to 'show off' their stuff.

'Meanwhile Hyl and I will be having a dancing lesson..' The brunette continued casually causing Hyllos to immediately flush with embarrassment.

'Aw mo-_om _dancing's for girls..' He whined which only caused his mother to smirk wider.

'Nonsense honey..' Syrinx responded instantly with a wide smile of encouragement. 'It will help you grow confidence and ease your clumsiness.'

'I took dance in school Hyl and it helped me out with mine..' Hercules added casually noticing his son's uneasy look.

'But I don't wanna learn to dance-' Hyllos started but Phil cut him off.

'Two words. Suck.. It.. Up.' The goat-man bit into his own-made pita sandwich.

'Isn't that three words?' Hyllos responded instantly causing the satyr to scowl as he swallowed.

'Don't get smart with me kid.' Phil stated grimly before suddenly clutching his belly with a pain expression. 'Oy gevalt, my ulcer's actin' up again..' He winced as the table of his closest family gasped. Instantly Meg and Syrinx rushed to either side of the old goat as Hyllos looked on in shock and concern.

'Oh mi-gosh Phil!' Hercules cried out in alarm as he moved to his old mentor a look of fear and alarm in his wide blue eyes…

* * *

…High up above the group who were now crowding Phil Thanatos looked down from his slouching position on the very edge of Hercules' villa roof. A wide twisted smirk playing across his lips as his fist was clenched tightly, his knuckles contracting in the very slight movement he was making.

'Hmmm, whatta ya know? Dinner and a show..' The golden-flamed god narrowed his eyes deviously before his knuckles tightened causing Phil to grit his teeth and strangle his cry of agony, clearly the little godling was squeezing the ulcer with his godly powers.

'We have to do something..' Syrinx squealed out with anxiety.

'We have to go to Hypocrites..' Meg sounded immediately to her husband.

'No. Phil's in too much agony to move..' Hercules responded sharply. '-we'll bring him here.' The hero got to his feet and grabbed his worried looking son by the shoulders and steered him towards Pegasus' stable, there was no way he was leaving the boy here to witness Phil's pain.

'Yes Hercules..' Thanatos drawled coolly watching his mortal cousin leave. '-go get the doctor..' With his cousin gone leaving only two anguished women to care for Phil Thanatos dropped down from the roof of the villa onto the veranda and slowly wandered towards the three of them. Neither Syrinx or Meg could see Thanatos but Phil, who was now delusional with the agonizing fiery pain in his stomach saw him and let out a genuine cry of torture and terror. He knew damn well what seeing the God of Death's face this close meant that you were doomed to die.

'Shh, shh Phil..' Syrinx soothed trying hard not to let the well of tears escape her deep dark blue eyes.

'Stop twitching mutton man, Herc will be back with help soon..' Meg sounded gently trying to not let her fear show as both she and the nymph tried to stop Phil from his desperate wriggling as the God of Death-in-training closed the gap.

'Don't worry, I promise to make this as painless as possible..' Thanatos sounded smoothly, his voice wasn't even acknowledged by the two girls who were now swabbing him with a wet cloth and uttering soothing words Phil couldn't hear… only he and Thanatos existed in this moment. The teenage God of Death-in-training then pulled out his scythe from a swirl of smoky shadow and stretched out towards Phil's chest. The satyr blacked out due to his own immense pain and the last thing his very ebb of consciousness was aware of was Syrinx' shrill voice.

'Meg! He's not breathing!'…

* * *

…When Phil regained consciousness, or at least what he thought was consciousness, he found himself stood at the side of the river Styx. He looked to his left to see Thanatos casually stood beside him clutching his vicious looking scythe.

'What happened to me?' Phil asked nervously, already having a pretty good idea what but needing to hear it out loud for confirmation.

'You died.' Thanatos sounded calmly, as if he'd been asking how the weather was.

'How?' Phil immediately followed up his first question.

'Perforated ulcer..' Thanatos added in the same casual voice.

'Ouch. I knew that thing was justa ticking time bomb..' Phil muttered, more to himself than Thanatos before the satyr finally caught sight of himself and did a double-take, rushing to the waters of the Styx to check out his reflection. He was now completely see-through and his horns, hind and beard were tinged with blue while the rest of him was ghostly pale.

'Holy Hera, I'm a spirit!'

'Well duh.' Thanatos responded rolling his golden eyes. 'How else did you think you were enterin' the Underworld?'

'Hey!' Phil scowled at the juvenile god. 'Just because I'm dead it doesn't mean you can gimmie that lip pal..'

'Yeesh, soh-_rriee! _Who knew dead guys could be so touchy about their own deaths..' Thanatos murmured to himself with a slight scowl of umbrage while folding his arms. The next moment Charon and his large black gondola appeared out of the misty waters of the Styx and stopped before the two of them.

'Well, this is my end of the line..' Thanatos started but the satyr broke him off.

'Your not coming with me?' The goat-man had never entered the underworld without Hercules before and he was very nervous about what Hades might have in store for him at the other side, it was no secret that he wasn't Phil's biggest fan.

'Do you want me to come with you?' Thanatos asked, blinking surprised by this statement. No soul before this one had ever asked him to escort them across.

'Would you if I did?' Phil asked the God of Death-in-training as Charon cocked his brow at the teenage godling, he'd never witnessed this much conversation between Death and a soul before, usually they were happy to be dropped off here.

'Of course, it is my job to guide spirits y'know..' Thanatos flashed a sharp-fanged grin to the satyr and moved passed a gob-smacked Charon and stood at the helm of the boat.

'Hey, your not as bad as the crockery makes out kid.' Phil sounded with a smile moving towards the boat before being stopped by Charon.

'Two silver drachmas to ride, no freebies..' Charon's voice rasped holding out his palm insistently.

'Whoa, look buddy I'm a little short-'

'Hold out your hand..' Thanatos cut off Phil's stumbling explanation to Charon and the satyr blinked at him before obeying and as if by magic two silver coins appeared in his hand.

'Looks like one of your friends sent you the toll after all, huh?' The fiery godling added cheerfully to Phil's perplexed face. Charon took the coins and allowed Phil onto the boat where he sat in front of Thanatos who was now facing into the boat.

'How did you know I had the money on me?' Phil couldn't help but ask the fiery godling curiously.

'I'm omniscient, and your friends are decent people.' Thanatos responded coolly.

The boat ride was pretty uneventful though Phil found himself staring around the Underworld in surprise as it had changed so much since his last visit. There were flowers and trees, there was even a couple of subterranean nymphs relaxing by the banks of the Styx… then finally, as they rounded the last bend the House of Hades appeared into view. It was the one thing that had not changed. It stood their tall and majestic, looming over the Underworld like some huge monumental building which inspired fear into mortal hearts. Phil felt his nerves return as they closed into the docks and the familiar outline of Hades himself could be seen waiting for them…

* * *

'Well, well, if it isn't the _goat-man.._' Hades' golden eyes narrowed immediately recognising Hercules' trainer the second he appeared off the boat with Thanatos standing beside him, the godling's face was wearing the tiniest ghost of a smirk as his father swirled around the pair of them, Hades' eyes never leaving the satyr. Phil felt himself shrink in size as he coward slightly under Hades' intrigued gaze.

'No way..'

'It can't be..' Phil heard the unmistakable gasps of surprise coming from Hades' two henchmen Pain and Panic as the two imps stared slack-jawed at the satyr-soul standing in front of them.

'This is _impossible_..' Panic uttered, his brain still sitting in disbelief at what he was seeing while Pain could only stare confused and amazed. It had only been a few hours ago they'd been speaking to Thanatos about Phil and now, here he stood dead as a doornail on the docks of the Styx.

'Oh contraire my dear Panic, this is very probable.' Thanatos flashed the green imp a wide smirk of amusement at the dumbfounded expressions.

'Uh-huh, yeh, yeh, yeh, probable or not boys the fact of the matter is: he's here..' Hades' voice was cool, yet authoritative as if finishing this debate before it could even start. Phil didn't like the way Hades looked when he added 'he's here' there was a glint of hidden knowledge in his deep golden eyes.

'Can I make a suggestion dad?' Thanatos' voice suddenly sounded causing Phil to suddenly turn his head around to Thanatos, he'd almost forgotten the God of Death was there. Amazingly the spirit-satyr instantly felt calmed by his presence… the young godling was not leaving him to the mercy of Hades after all.

'Shoot kiddo..' Hades' eyes narrowed at his first born child, usually Thanatos did not escort souls across the river, there must be a special reason as to why he was still with this dead soul..

'I think you should sentence this soul yourself..' Thanatos' words instantly made Phil wince with fear, was he serious? Let Hades judge his soul? '-since he is such a _special_ case..'

Hades' golden eyes narrowed deviously at his son's words, so that was the reason he had accompanied the soul across the river..

'Very well Than, if that is what you want..' The blue-flamed god responded before whipping around to Phil who instantly cowered against Thanatos' black robes. '-any _objections_ Philoctetes?' He deliberately used Phil's full name to install a sense of seriousness to the situation.

'Uh… nuh-nu-no sir..' The satyr stuttered nervously, clinging to Death's black robes.

'Good. Now follow me..' Hades sounded firmly before swivelling away and moving down the path of the Styx. Phil suddenly scowled at Thanatos..

'You want him to sentence me?' He asked incredulously.

'He may be tough but he's also fair..' Thanatos responded pushing Phil to follow his father. '-and don't worry, I'll be right behind ya..' The ghostly satyr began to follow Hades with Thanatos right behind as promised… the imps were bringing up the rear, with nothing to do they were curious to see where Hades was taking the goat-man but they had the sense to hang back in case Hades tried to flame them for leaving their posts.

For a long time they walked in silence and the suspense was driving Phil crazy… where was Hades taking him? He was silently hoping it wasn't Tartarus… anywhere but there. However when they rounded the final corner the satyr's jaw dropped in shock at what met him. It was the brightly lit cavernous realm of the Elysian Fields, the dark hollow doorways letting out the bright lights were the only dark spot to this realm. Despite himself Phil smiled, relief filling his entire spectral being.

'Your sending me here?' The satyr blurted out aloud causing Hades to kink a brow in amusement at it.

'Are ya really complaining?' The fiery god sounded with a faint hint of laughter behind his voice.

'No, no, no..' Phil instantly shook his head and raised his hands to the god. '-I just thought that since ya don't like me that much ya would-'

'_Hey!_' Hades bristled with slight offence cutting off the satyr. 'Unlike some other gods I won't mention, I am strictly professional when it comes to my work, ok? My personal opinion of somebody _rarely_ affects their quality of afterlife, and besides after all your work raisin' heroes how could ya not expect to end up here?' The fiery god smirked widely at the satyr before straightening brusquely and adding, 'Now if ya don't mind I got some paperwork to take care of, ciao..' And with that the fiery god vanished on the spot leaving Phil and Thanatos to say their farewells.

'I told ya he was fair..' Thanatos sounded with a self-satisfied smirk.

'Yeh, yeh, you were right kid. I guess he's not sucha bad guy after all..' The satyr glanced to the entrance of the Elysian Fields with slight longing. 'So… I guess this is it, huh?' Phil rubbed the back of his neck unsure how to thank Thanatos for all of his help but by the look on the teenage deity' face, he already knew how the satyr felt.

'For now anyway…' Thanatos smiled holding out his hand to Phil and the two of them shook hands. And with that Phil trotted off to the entrance of Elysium, pausing only to turn and wave at the God of Death-in-training before vanishing into the realm and out of sight.

Pain and Panic appeared out from behind the nearest jutting bit of sharp rock and approached Thanatos.

'So that's it then? Admetus' substitution has been repaid?' Pain sounded gently causing the grim son of Hades to rip his eyes away from the Elysian Fields and gaze at the imps thoughtfully before eventually responded.

'No..' The fiery godling sounded. '-I have two moons left to find a substitute.'

'But Phil? Wasn't he..?' Panic's eyes widened as he gibbered his words pointing to the Elysian Fields.

'This was his allotted time to die..' Thanatos sounded with diabolical amusement lacing his voice as he turned away from the realms of Elysium. 'He's just a red herring..'

'He's a fish?~?' Pain sounded dimly before adding to a confused Panic. 'I thought he was a satyr..'

'Oy… imps…' Thanatos sighed heavily shaking his head. 'Will you ever learn?'

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Ok Peeps… be honest, how many of you thought Phil was the substitute for King Admetus? Lol… did I get you or what!~! He's not! But I do feel sad that he's gone now.. I feel kind of bad because I have only used him in P.o.P and A.A.F.E before this fic and I bring him back and kill him off… I'm so evil I'm sorry but he serves no further part to this story._

_Ok, this is the first time I've brought Phil's somewhat girlfriend Syrinx into the story and I'm not sure if she'll feature that much in it but I kind of regard her and Meg as being close friends and I wanted real emotion to come out for Phil's death… I'm so glad I labled this a T-rated fic, the only thing that stops it from being an M is bad language, no bloody gore and adult scenes… I'm no good at writing that stuff, I cringe at the thought._

_More importantly though, this is the first time I have ever mentioned Pain and Panic's father! How could I forget him! Oyzis, to clever Greek myth buffs who noticed, is technically spelt wrong! It should be Oizys and she (in myth) was the Goddess of Misery but that didn't work for me as I wanted the head honcho of the Misery clan to be male! Since Disney changed Trivia (Hecate's Roman name) a guy I wanted to do the same with Oizys, so I twiddled her name to give it a more male feel to it without destroying it completely and yes, he will be appearing into the fic shortly so I'll keep how he appears to myself just now!_

_Didn't I tell you this fic was getting dark!_

_Stay tuned for more soon!_

_~Ditzy x_


	45. A Gleaning from Previous Scheming

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: *hands over a handkerchief* I know… Phil's death kinda bummed me out too, but I had to write it for this story to work. I don't think the myth of Admetus will help you that much but there is another myth that will help you… look up the name 'Deianira' if you haven't guessed the substitute by the end of this chapter then this will answer it for you X**_

_**MusicLuver78901: Nice to know your still with us hun… and yeh, the response to Phil's death has been HUGE, I honestly never realised how big it was but I am planning a very brief return of him in a chapter since everyone misses him so much X**_

_**DisneyPrincess: Yup, after all that careful planning Phil wasn't even the substitute. This is the last chapter you'll get to guess the substitute as the plot begins in the next one and the substitute will be revealed… And thank you for making me feel better about Phil, he even said 'I am retired' to Herc the first day they met so he was pretty old then. His death wasn't nice but Than's compassion and eagerness to help Phil after his death more than redeems him in my eyes, he's not completely heartless.. X**_

_**Coldblue: Don't worry about not reviewing, you've done it now… and thank you, I'm glad your enjoying the characters and story so much. And Than with a girlfriend? Hmmm… an interesting concept and not one I've considered.. His Touch of Death would leave him with the options of Immortal or Undead, and I wouldn't put necrophilia past him. I did have an idea where the god did fall for a vampire known as Lilith, who was the first vampire in existence, another one of Hera's victims (shock horror)… I always imagined that Eris and Than getting together would signify the end of the world, the idea of Death and Discord dating does kind of offer up the apocalyptic vision for some reason but I'd love to hear more of this idea, you should mail me sometime X**_

_**Black Diamond07: *hands out another handkerchief* I was sad writing it too but as DisneyPrincess said, he was ancient and he did get to go to the Elysian Fields… besides, after the response to his death I may have his spirit return in a later chap as I feel kinda guilty for killing him off. X**_

_**Vikishus: Hmmm… are you right? Well this chapter may or may not confirm that theory. This is the last chapter before the actual plot begins so if you have got it right this chapter will tell you… X**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Forty-Five:****A Gleaning from Pervious Scheming**

Phil's funeral was held the day after his death. The very fact that he had not been there to witness his mentor's last moments devastated Hercules. The middle-aged hero could barely recall anything that was said once he'd returned with Hypocrites and Hyllos. As Meg silently wept while hugging an inconsolable Syrinx, Hyllos cried softly into Pegasus, the winged horse covering him with his wing and nuzzling him comfortingly while grieving. The first doctor of Greece examined the body, finally deducing that it was a perforated stomach ulcer that had finally killed the old goat-man and with the limited medical knowledge they had there was nothing he could have done.

…_Nothing could have saved Phil… _This crashing realisation was what shattered the last sustaining scrap of his mind before the middle-aged hero succumbed to the crushing wave of grief that was pushing on his psyche. Hercules remained silent and almost zombie-like in appearance as Syrinx and his family openly mourned at the Phil's funeral. A couple of the satyr's brother's children were there, also grieving for their uncle. Nymphs and satyrs, shrubbery and others the old goat had known were all gathered in Satyrville where it was being held… later they would take the body to Phil's home isle and bury it as requested by the old goat.

…it was fair to say the old goat would be missed greatly…

* * *

As the days turned into weeks Thanatos found himself twitching with anticipation. The days just couldn't roll by fast enough, he was growing bored just waiting… and waiting… and waiting. He had to wait for the right time to strike his 'substitute'.. if he acted too soon then it would be too easy, over too quickly and that didn't satisfy his morbidly-carnal desires. He wanted to do this nice and slow, he wanted the events running up to the substitutes death to influence how they would die. Inspiration never hit Thanatos all at once, it tapped gingerly, almost as if it feared it would wither and die if it presented itself before the Death god. Thanatos could never be a hundred percent certain over a soul's death until they were due to die but on those rare occasions when he's feeling a little devious the young god would manipulate the events leading up to the time of death to sway it in another direction… though he had never gone as far as to alter someone's fate into making their time of death sooner, this in itself was going to be completely new..

'Yo, Than..' The sound of Hades' voice made the fiery teen zone back into reality. With his mother away working on the surface the Lord of the Underworld had allowed his son to sit with him, slouching on Persephone's side of their two-seater throne. Thanatos blinked and looked up from his empty Death List. '-fancy indulgin' your old man ina game of chess?' Thanatos' eyes narrowed at his father's hopeful look… this was always his father's answer to killing time, play chess.

'I hate playing chess..' The godling finally responded, his voice sounding slightly sullen as he pulled a petulant scowl. '-you never let me win..' Hades hopeful look vanished at his son's words and the blue fiery god tutted disapprovingly.

'Than, Than, Thanny… chess ain't about winnin' kiddo.' A surprisingly soft but slightly amused smirk twitched the god's full blue lips. His gently reprimanding tone caused Thanatos to kink a brow.

'Chess ain't about winnin'… _Riight_..' Thanatos drawled in a sarcastic disbelieving tone. 'Then what _is_ it about Hades?' The fiery Lord of the Dead frowned at his eldest child, he didn't like his children calling him by his first name.

'Well, _son_-' Hades mimicked Thanatos' tone of voice looking equally as petulant as his son. '-chess is about _strategy_. Now gerroff the throne, we're gonna play.' Hades' childish tone vanished as he issued this command causing Thanatos to roll his golden eyes and slide out of his mother's side of the throne.

'Alright, fine dad, I'll play, keep your flames on.' The golden-flamed teen drawled unenthusiastically as his father's long greyish-blue fingers clasped him around the shoulders and steered him towards the chessboard. Hades deposited his son in the seat with the black Underworld pieces before sitting opposite him with the white Olympian pieces. With a reluctant sigh Thanatos waited for his father to make his first move… great, another tally on his losing streak was just what he wanted.

The game moved slowly, mostly due to Thanatos' lack of interest in it and his lethargic attitude was starting to grate on his father's patience. Hades watched as his eldest child merely moved pieces recklessly, not even looking at the board to see where he was moving them to and not even caring if he put them in his father's path… practically handing the game to Hades. The edges of his blue flames tinged a hot yellow in annoyance though Hades' jaw remained set as though he were restraining the desire to combust. He put his fingers to the figure of Athena, his bishop, with the intentions of taking Than's knight, the figure of Thanatos himself, when his fingers stopped just before he could touch the white figure in front of him. His golden eyes widened at the dark figure of his son and his large pupils rolled around to a glum looking Thanatos who was playing with one of his own discarded imp-pawns idly… _I hate playing chess.. you never let me win… you never let me win… _As this last line repeated itself a few more times around his mind Hades was hit with a brainwave which made a twisted smirk cross his face as his flames returned to their usual blue. Letting Than win? His mind instantly flashed back to when he was Thanatos' age and playing chess against his own father Erebus. The shadowy god had never let him win either, Hades remembered how frustrated and annoyed he got at the time when his father promised that one day when he was ready he would beat him… But that hadn't been until after the Titan War when he'd been confident enough in his game. And what helped him gain this confidence? Winning against somebody else… Then without another thought Hades pulled his hand away from Athena's figurine and changed tact flashing his son a sympathetic smirk.

'Y'know Than..' Hades sounded conversationally as he picked up the figure of Hermes, a rook, and glided it across the board in one long sweeping movement, his eyes not even leaving the board until his rook was solidly on a square once more. '-playing chess is a lot like plottin' a scheme, ok?' Thanatos studied his pieces with less attention to detail than Hades would have liked, however his golden eyes did turn up with a glimmer of interest at the mention of the word 'scheme'.

'First, the key to this game is _concentration_, ya with me brat? Ya gotta analyse the board and say 'how can I make this work for me'..' Hades grinned widely at his son as Thanatos blinked at his father raising a brow at him confused yet slightly intrigued by this new advice. 'Go on, study the board..' Hades prompted him with a firm glint in his large black pupils. Instantly complying with his father's words the golden-flamed godling looked down at his pieces, actually seeing how many he had left. Some pawns a only a few attack pieces left.

'I think I'm sunk dad..' Thanatos responded grimly facing his father again.

'Nah your not.' Hades instantly responded as his eyes swept over the pieces before he smirked widely at his son. 'Ya gotta a few good players left. Now I wantcha to pretend this is a scheme, alright.. and your goal is to overthrow Zeus.' The blue flamed god gestured to his king piece which was Zeus surrounded by most of Hades' other Olympian pieces. Than had only taken a few cherub-pawns since starting the game but now the little godling scowled at the white-stone King of the Gods on the board opposite him wearing that stupidly-smug grin on his face, the teen godling briefly wondered if his father had chiselled that look deliberately just to aggravate whoever looked at it because that's all it did.

'The trick to chess, and any scheme, is knowin' how your opponent operates..' Hades continued to drawl casually as he pulled a cigar out of nowhere, lighting it casually with a flame on his thumb and taking a deep drag before continuing, '-if ya can second-guess someone's moves ya can take 'em down before they get the drop on ya, see what I'm sayin'?' Thanatos nodded in silent contemplation, now that his father had turned this game into a role-play scheme he was taking the game a bit more seriously. It might only be a figurine but he wasn't going to let this stupid grinning Zeus win..

'Uh-uh, don't move that one..' Hades' eyes widened, the cigar in his mouth bobbing as he spoke with his blue lips clenched, holding his smoke in place as Thanatos' fingers moved to a piece on the board. Hades' long bluish-grey fingers instantly curled around his son's wrist, stopping him from touching the piece. The younger deity froze and blinked at his father before frowning.

'Can I make a suggestion?' Hades continued immediately, ignoring the stunned look on his son's face at his offer to help. 'Move this one..' Still gripping his son's wrist Hades guided his hand to the figure of Melinoe, the king-side rook, and in one long sweeping motion he moved the piece now gripped in Thanatos' fingers towards his own knight, the figure of Apollo, knocking it clean off the board and resting the dark figure of his daughter in the square.

Thanatos threw his father a suspicious look once Hades let go of his wrist.

'Why did you just do that?' Thanatos asked immediately.

'Say, check..' Hades responded lightly, idly blowing out a smoke ring them admiring it with a secretive smirk.

'What?' The fiery godling kinked a brow at him before his eyes look at the board to see that his sister is indeed threatening the King of the Gods despite being surrounded in a sea of white pawns. 'Uh… check?' Thanatos sounds unsurely as Hades eyes dropped to the board immediately and he moved his Zeus figure next to his knight, the figure of Ares.

'I've told you about the schemes I plotted before I met'cha mom, right Than?' Hades sounded conversationally to his son.

'Sure, a few times dad, why..' Thanatos responded casually as he moved the figure of himself around in an L-shape wedging himself in between a cherub-pawn and his father's Artemis-bishop, threatening three of his father's pieces at once. Hades' golden eyes narrowed with amusement at the move his son had just made, a smirk then slowly twisted his lips.

'_Nice_ move brat, very nice..' The blue-flamed god smirked his approval before his stern deadpan game-face appeared and Hades suddenly slumped forwards, actually having to think about which piece to sacrifice. For a brief moment Hades said nothing and merely puffed on his cigar thoughtfully before eventually moving one threatened piece to save another, ultimately leaving the last piece to be swept up by Thanatos.

'Y'see..' The older pyrogod sounded with a wide-fanged smirk spreading across his lips, usually Hades would be throwing a flaming hissy tantrum if this was a _real_ game but since he was helping his son to beat himself he really didn't mind… _this time_. '-safety isn't always in numbers, all ya need is to overlook one tinsy _nudgekin_ of a detail and the whole plan goes _kaput_..' Hades flared briefly to himself looking dark then added, '-that's the mistake I made with _Jerkules_..'

The mention of his mortal cousin instantly gained Thanatos' interest and his pupils darted up from scanning the pieces. The imps had already filled in some of the gaps missing from when his father had told him about the Titan 'incident', which was basically the story minus a few tactical scheming details.. His father was a shrewd business god and didn't like divulging plot details unless absolutely necessary.

'Mistake?' He sounded throwing Hades the most naive of looks he could muster, he certainly didn't want his father to know that the imps had already told him a little more than he _needed_ to know.

The blue-flamed Lord of the Dead had been rolling his cigar with a far away expression of annoyance when his son's innocently uttered word brought him sharply back to reality and he flared irritably at Thanatos.

'Eyes. Down in front.' His voice was clipped as the god's golden-eyes narrowed towards his son..

'Yeh, yeh.. Eyes on the prize, an' all that jazz..' Thanatos sighed heavily as his eyes turned back to the board roaming the pieces in front of him sullenly. The golden-quiffed God of Death-in-training then frowned, contemplating his options.

'Eh-heh-heh..' Hades' chuckle was as dry as kindling but his face softened into an amused smirk. 'Flamin' apples don't fall far from the burnin' tree son..' He sounded jauntily as he watched his son study the board deep in thought for a few more moments. 'Need another hint short-flames?' The fiery god added flashing his son a wide leer wanting to ease his suffering a bit.

It was Thanatos' turn to bristle his flames in annoyance.

'How do I know you aren't trying to manipulate my game in your favour?' The golden-flamed godling kinked an brow at his father, he wouldn't put sabotage past him.

'Sheesh, I can't win with you, can I brat? Ya kvetch about me not lettin' ya win, then ya kvetch about me tryin' to help ya out..' Hades sounded as he stubbed out the cigar butt in a large ashtray beside him, rolling his eyes animatedly as he did it. '-will ya make up your mind already!' The fiery god pouted in a petulant manner as he slumped away from the board in a fed up adolescent manner... Sometimes being a parent screwed with the mind.

'Well.. I guess I could use a little help if the offer still stands..' Thanatos sounded, dropping his guard as his father genuinely looked like he wanted to help him with his game strategy.

Hades' golden eyes turned back to his son, his expression unreadable for a moment before slowly a smirk returned to his face.

'Sure, why not..' The fiery god then glared down at his figurine of Zeus briefly as he added. '-I'm fed up lookin' at the smug face on Bolt Boy anyway..'

* * *

This time Hades didn't directly give Thanatos a move like he had before. Instead the fiery Lord of the Dead gave his son a few hinting pointers on his game which helped the sharp-witted teen formulate his next plan of attack without his father knowing it first-hand. On and on they played and it seemed that Thanatos' new-found focus was paying off as he slowly cornered Hades' pieces… he did have a sneaking suspicion that his father was going easy on him.

'So, you said something about making mistakes with Hercules..' The fiery youth spoke in a soft voice as he moved one of his pieces into place, blocking an escape route. One of Hades' brows twitched before the blue-flamed god frowned at his son, throwing the godling a suspicious glare.

'Yeh, and what of it?' His voice responded coolly as his flames bristled slightly.

'Well, it's just you've never gone into detail about your plots around Hercules..' Hades' brows shot up at these words, intrigued as well as suspicious now. '-and if you made mistakes, maybe I could learn from them..' Thanatos' words faltered under his father's now seriously guarded look. '-y'know.. just in case I ever find myself in a similar situation..' The fiery teen tailed off at his father's dark yet contemplating expression wondering if he'd gone too far and was just digging a hole for himself.. The silence spiralled for a few moments longer as Hades mulled over his words.

'Hmmm..' The fiery god rubbed his long chin thoughtfully as he considered his two options before, amazingly, Hades' full blue lips twisted slowly into a smirk. '-I suppose outta all my brats your most likely to run into these kinda issues.. _Ok_, I'll letcha into a few of my plots on one condition..'

'Oy vey, here it comes..' Thanatos sighed heavily placing his chin in his palm. 'Ya just don't get somethin' for nothin' in this realm..' The fiery godling rolled his eyes before his pupils rolled back towards his blue-flamed father. 'Alright, lay it on me daddy-o.'

'What I share with you goes no further..' Hades sounded firmly and Thanatos blinked at the stony expression that was now fixed on his father's face. 'Ya can't tell a soul, living, dead or otherwise, capeesh..'

'Yeh, yeh, I won't say out..' Thanatos responded flippantly.

'_Thanatos_..' Hades' look darkened in reaction to his son's dismissive tone.

'What? Ya want me to Swear by the Styx? Fine.' Thanatos crossed his hand over his heart and raised it upwards pledging, 'I, Thanatos Moros Chthonos, Swear by the Styx not reveal anything that transpires here to another soul, living, dead or otherwise..' The golden-flamed youth then folded his arms and threw his father a challenging look. 'Satisfied now?'

'Heh, I'da been happy with just your word kiddo but, you've made the pledge now..' Hades let out a low chuckle of amusement as his thirteen year old son scowled. 'Alright Than. Ya already know the basic story but let me fill in a few blanks..' Hades sounded leaning back in his high-backed seat and pulling out another cigar, lighting it and puffing thoughtfully, letting his mind wander back over the last few decades to absorb the facts. Meanwhile Thanatos moved his final piece on the board uttering,

'Check mate..' The fiery godling uttered causing Hades to blink then smirk widely, slamming his fist off the board causing the pieces to vanish in a puff of smoke. He then waved his hand over the board causing a new collection of pieces appear, these included: Titans, Stygian birds, a centaur and a variety of other monstrous beasts Thanatos had never seen but heard of. The fiery godling blinked at this rather impressive collection of creatures on the board.

'So Hercules defeated all these guys?' Thanatos blinked in disbeleif, perhaps he had severely underestimated his cousin.

'Yup.' Hades responded sucking on his cigar and exhaling lazily. 'But let's start from when I found out Jerkules was still alive at eighteen, ok?' The blue-flamed Lord of the Dead moved the stone figure of the centaur into the board. 'This guy, is Nessus, ok? A River Guardian with a gruff attitude and a fondness for pretty ladies-'

'Wait!' Thanatos stopped his father in his tracks as something didn't add up. 'I thought you knew Hercules before that?' Hades sighed heavily before flaring with slight irritation.

'Uh, yeh, an incident involving the imps and some Lethe water wiped those years from my mind, to this day I still don't remember what exactly happened then, n_ow can we get back to the schemes I can remember!_' Thanatos blanched under his father's murderous flare and gaze before the fiery Lord of the Underworld slowly returned blue breathing deeply.

'Alright, ok, yeesh take it easy.. So, tell me about this Nessus guy then.' Thanatos sounded keenly and his words caused a smirk to appear on Hades' face.

'Well, knowing this guy's weakness I sent my newly acquired servant Megara-'

'The same Megara that's now married to Hercules?' Thanatos interjected at this point.

'That's correct sir, in fact this is how they met… anyway, I sent little Nut-Meg out to convince Nessus to join my cause by any means necessary..' Thanatos listened with rapt attention as Hades continued to describe his many plots and strategies, detailing how Hercules managed to destroy them and ruin his schemes, forcing him to alter his plans and plot again… The blue-flamed god even mapped out how his schemes went down on the chessboard in front of his son explaining how significant the board was to his scheming. As Thanatos listened to his father, gaining a better understanding of how his mortal cousin operated the devious little godling's mind began to formulate a plan..

* * *

'_Pain_…'

'_Panic_..'

Both imps winced at the sound of Thanatos' bellow before shooting off in the direction of the young golden-flamed deity. They were only now just getting used to the idea of answering to their boss' son and although they did not fear him on the same level as they feared Hades they still showed him the same respect.

'You called your morbidness?' Pain spoke as they both halted in front of Thanatos, who they eventually found in the Asphodel Fields surrounded by an assortment of simplified dead souls.

'Uh, can we drop the 'morbidness' bit, seriously, it grates my fangs when ya call me that..' Thanatos sighed heavily, slapping his forehead causing his golden-flamed quiff to spark.

'Sure thing junior boss..' Panic responded airily. '-what would you prefer? Your rottenness?'

'Your spitefulness?' Pain suggested.

'Your grim reaperness?'

'Oh that's a good one Panic..' Pain beamed widely.

'Thanks.' Panic smiled at his partner, both imps failing to see how irritated Thanatos was getting.

'How about your deathliness..' Pain continued to throw out.

'Your eeriness?' Panic suggested.

'Your scariness?' Pain added.

'_No!_' Thanatos roared infuriated quickly switching to a burning skeleton.

'Your scariness?' Panic kinked a brow at Pain. 'What kind of name is that?'

'Well all the best ones had already been said..' The chubby pink imp reasoned.

'_I don't want to be called any of them!_' Thanatos roared furiously before his skin slowly returned and the godling opened his golden eyes once more. 'I'm _not_ my dad, I don't like the grovellin'..'

'But grovelling is all we know..' Pain sounded confused.

'Yeh, it's part of who we are.' Panic added.

'Then I suggest you find a new shtick if ya wanna work with me!' Thanatos flared, though not enough to display his skull.

'So you called us for something?' Pain eventually managed to stutter out and Thanatos relaxed considerably at these words.

'Yes..' The fiery godling responded lightly. '-I'm going on a recruitin' drive.'

'_Recruiting drive?_' Both imps repeated in shock, looking at each other bemused.

'Do you have the authority to recruit beings into Underworld service?' Panic kinked a brow suspiciously at the fiery godling.

'Oh I'm not recruiting them for Underworld service.' Thanatos responded lightly.

'Your not?' Pain sounded bemused.

'No. I'm going to recruit them into helping me get rid of Admetus' substitute..' Thanatos replied lightly. '-which is well within my jurisdiction as God of Death.'

'Oh..' Both imps drawled with understanding before Pain looked bemused once more.

'So what does that have to do with us?' The chubby pink imp asked his boss' son while Panic looked equally confused about this. Thanatos' eyes narrowed deviously as his smirk twisted horribly at the imps.

'I want you to tell me where I can find a River Guardian by the name of Nessus..'

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Heya peeps, I wrote this chapter while stuck at home with a horrible stomach bug, hopefully I'll be ok soon but it did give me time to finish this chapter so it wasn't time completely wasted. Do you know who the substitute is now… you should do. I don't say the name out right but all the clues are there now and the next chapter entitled: The Return of Nessus, will be the start of Thanatos' plot to take down the substitute!_

_Oh dear, Hades does seem to be getting dragged deeper and deeper into it doesn't he?_

_Alright, I know as well as you do about the huge gaping plot-hole surrounding the link to the series and the film. Judging by some comments left of You-Tube it really annoys some people and let's face it, it probably wasn't Disney's best thought out plan. However I think the easiest answer to that issue is the imps could have easily have splashed Hades with Lethe water making him forget about Hercules, hence that little mention in this chapter surrounding that theory… though unsure if I could actually write a ficlet concerning it.. Hmmm, it's on the back-burner anyway._

_Lol, does anyone else like how Pain and Panic's grovelling is getting on Than's nerves? Although they are similar in personality they also have a fair few key differences that will start to come out.._

_Stay tuned for more soon.._

_~Ditzy x_


	46. The Return of Nessus,,

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: I don't think anybody's dad ever let them win… my dad thinks there's no honour in winning when it's just handed out to you, but then again my dad is pretty competitive when it comes to playing games… we play on the Wii all the time and he's always showboating when he wins and sulking if he loses, he's a big kid, so imagining Hades doing the same is pretty easy for me. X**_

_**DisneyPrincess: *hands over yet another handkerchief* Oh dear… I do seem to be making you cry a lot in recent chapters don't I? Here.. *hands over the whole Kleenex box* ..you might need this for the next chapter, unfortunately, more death still to come… and I'm miles better now thank you! Ha-ha I think everybody remembers a game where they talked about life lessons with there parents, our family always used to play monopoly and I always used to lose (hmmm, maybe that's why I hate playing it now)… and yeh, the most annoying thing about the imps is their grovelling it would drive me nuts too! x**_

_**Coldblue: No problem, I decided at the start of this fic that I was going to respond to every review I got… I was already those who were members on this site and trying to answer questions sent in by guests in my Little Notes sections but this is so much easier… I'm really pleased that you like Thanatos and the other more darker characters in this fic, I'm trying to keep clear of the whole Disney cliché that dark equals evil which is not always the case, personally Zeus was waay worse than Hades in my book and that will be coming in to play later on. However, I do find myself kind of lost with your idea to pair Thanatos up permanently. I'll admit I'm not a romantist, my parents divorced when I was a kid and I had a really bad relationship with a controlling guy who's technique was to chip slowly away at my self-esteem rather than beat me black and blue. I'm more realistic these days and probably too cynical for my own good… Having said that though, the way Thanatos' is designed I think it would be neigh-on impossible for him to settle down. The god is already holding his family at arms length (as displayed in recent chapters), I could easily see him having a short fling or a passing fancy but the idea of being tied to someone long term would be intolerable, it would probably be too much for his psyche to bear… Lilith was an idea for a short fling, being a vampire (adopted from the bible) she would be an underling of his, most likely foreign too (as most vamps come from Romania) though he'd undoubtedly break it off I figured she'd stick around and serve him loyally due to her undying feelings for him.. As your idea of Eris and Thanatos getting together when Greeks stop praying to the gods, it was Christianity that stopped that… I do have a basic storyline evolving around that and yes, as Prophet of Doom Thanatos does have his hand in it (shock horror) but TBH I see Eris and Thanatos getting together at the second coming of Jesus, you know… when all the good get raptured and the rest get left on earth to face the horrors of the Anti-Christ and hells minions.. Though if you are looking to pair someone off I suggest Melinoe, believe it or not I can easily see this goddess married off to another Prince of Darkness *hint, hint* ^_^**_

_**Vikishus: I'm the Ruler of Awesome?~? Sweet! Nobody has ever called me that… thank you, I'm touched! To tell you the truth I'm not that crazy about chess, it was kind of forced upon me as a kid (hence why Than doesn't think that much of it either)… however having said that chess seems to be a big thing with Hades as it made several appearances in both the film and the series, always with the Olympians as white and the Underworld as black. For some reason these details always get missed by other fanfic writers.. Which is a cryin' shame.. Chess is about learning strategy not winning and for a god hell-bent on cosmic domination of course it would be his game of choice! And yep… you were absolutely correct from the get-go, you have no idea how much I wanted to tell you but for the sake of the story I had to keep schtum… X**_

_**WikiSorcerer (regarding review from Macaria… Go To Bed): Really, I had to look on You-Tube to see who you were talking about, she is a lot like her, though I always thought of her more like Violet from the Incredibles or Electra from the Hercules series X**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

* * *

_Warning: The contents of this chapter are a little intense and I feel it's only right to remind you this story is rated T for a reason… _

* * *

**Chapter Forty-Six:****The Return of Nessus..**

All was peaceful in glade surrounding the river Euenos which was located on the western side of Greece. The weak spring sunshine gently warming Gaia's surface as the delicate spring flowers turned their faces towards the light, straining for it's nurturing touch. The babbling river was the only thing in a rush as it's eddies churned up water leaving a mild froth on the surface as it smacked against rocks impatiently.

Thanatos squinted in the bright daylight as he materialized out of a curl of black smoky darkness, the teen godling sometimes wondered if his subterranean-born eyes would ever get used to the dramatic switch between his dark home-realm and the brilliantly lit upper-realms. Both his parents said it had taken them a while to adjust to the light-change and to be patient, in the case of Hades this also came with the forced reminder that he'd never seen the light of day until he was halfway through his teens… This information surprised Thanatos, but then he'd never thought that much of his father's childhood, he'd learnt little snippets of it from stories Hades used to tell him when he was younger… the only time his parents Erebus and Nyx had taken him outside of the Underworld was at night time, when Cronos slept, Hades had never seen daylight until he ascended to the surface with his biological brother's Zeus and Poseidon when he was sixteen godly-years old. Thanatos then came to the conclusion that perhaps he didn't have it quite as bad as he originally thought..

The instant Thanatos' vision adjusted to the dramatic change in lighting, his large round pupils instantly scanned the scenery around the Euenos river glade, looking for some hint of the big, ugly blue centurion river guardian… he had to be around here somewhere.. He'd sensed the centaur's presence before materializing.

It was then that the white-skinned teenage God of Death-in-training became aware of the sound of heavily enraged snorting behind him and the warm moist breath that caused his golden-flamed quiff to ripple lightly.

In that split second Thanatos realised that Nessus was directly behind him and the godling's pale lips twisted into a smirk. The next moment he swivelled around intending to use some of that old Chthonos-charm to soothe the savage beast.

'_Whatta-you-doing-here-ya-little-twerp!_' Nessus roared out before the teenage god could even open his mouth to speak, his great gust of breath caused Thanatos' flaming quiff to flicker dangerously, almost going out, as the centaur's voice was deafeningly loud.

'Aw _phewww_.._!_' Thanatos wrinkled his nose and waved his hand in front of his face, getting a good whiff of the centaur's mouth. 'Ya ever considered chewin' on Minthe, Fish-Breath?'

In response to this impudence Nessus let out an angry snort, exactly like the sound made by an irritated horse, which caused spit droplets to rain on Thanatos making his flaming hair hiss.

'Yo, say it don't spray it bud..' The fiery godling sounded wiping centaur saliva off of his long black cloak.

'Humph. Insolent cur..' Nessus huffed irritably, glaring at the teenage god. 'You still haven't answered me, _godling_.' His gruff voice added shortly as his huge blue fists rested on his hips where his navy horse-half met his paler-blue humanoid-half.

'Yeesh, this guys touchier than Charon..' Thanatos resisted the urge to roll his eyes with difficulty, uttering to himself quietly so Nessus wouldn't hear. He then flashed the unattractive centaur a wide-fanged smirk and added in a tone that oozed with charm. 'I came here with a… _proposition,_ of sorts, for ya, interested?' Thanatos' eyes narrowed as his brows waggled deviously.

'After the way you just spoke to me?' Nessus sounded in his gruff voice laced with derision, eyeing the little god in distasted. 'No.' He then turned away from Thanatos and began clopping down towards the waters edge.

'Oh, well… that's too bad..' Thanatos sounded with a heavy sigh as his shoulders sagged with mock-dejection, his gold eyes quickly darted back up to Nessus' back and he added as a sly smirk slowly twisted his lips. 'Guess I'll just have to deal with Hercules by _all_ by myself..' This caused the large centaur to pause, though still unwilling to turn back and face the fiery godling.

'Why should I care about that muscle-bound jerk..' Nessus responded roughly, another horse-like snort of derision escaping his nostrils. It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

'Because he's the same 'muscle-bound jerk' that beat you black and blue seventeen years ago when you were makin' your move on the sweet dame Hades sent to tempt you to join his uprisin'..' Thanatos sounded casually and the instant he did some flicker of recognition twinkled in Nessus' eyes, he had never seen any kind of portrait of the Greatest hero of Greece but the second Thanatos' words washed over him he could picture the hero. Nessus had never forgotten the humiliation of that brawl, he didn't even know why the guy had been there in the first place.. Nosy busy-body. What they had been 'discussing' had been none of his business. Nessus would have joined Hades' team gladly if he could have kept the god's little slave-girl… Hades would have probably been glad to hand her over. She was just Nessus' type too, spunky yet naïve. Especially when it came to how gods like Hades operated… she thought she'd been untouchable just because Hades owned her soul.. Hardly. Hades would have wanted her to get him on his side by _any_ means necessary and there was only one way he would join..

'In fact, I believe Herc is now married to that very same girl..' Thanatos added in the same carelessly tone, his smirk tweaking slyly. His words jarred Nessus out of his thoughts and back to the present, a scowl slowly appearing on the centaur's face..

'Why do you want me to help you?' Nessus sounded sternly, suspicious as to why this pint-sized god would come to him.

'Oh. Gee… I dunno..' Thanatos sounded airily, despite there being a subtle hint of exasperation in his voice at the question… where all centaurs this mentally challenged? '-I just thought after a humiliatin' defeat like that you might wanna get a li'l pay back..'

'Seventeen years later?' Nessus sounded sceptically, finally turning to the godling and kinking a brow to him in disbeleif. 'Whatta you _really_ want out of this?' The centaur eyed Thanatos shrewdly, he was no fool… he remembered the strength of this particular man and even if he wanted revenge, which he did, he was looking at impossible odds..

'I'm the God of Death… I want someone dead, ba-boom, can ya dig me?' Thanatos sounded irresistibly like his father, his boyish smirk twisted sinisterly making him look more roguish.

Nessus mulled over Thanatos' words for a few moments.

'And just how am I supposed to take this guy out?.' Nessus sounded with a scowl, this guy had been neigh-on impossible the first time.

'_Urrrrh_.. Like I _care_ how ya take him out, bash his noggin in when he's not lookin', snatch his little wifey and give her some o' the old centaur-schmooze, whatever that is..' Thanatos uttered the last bit under his breath, 'schmoozing' for this guy was probably a kick in the head and being dragged off to a shady crevice. 'Ya gotta brain in that thick skull of yours? You figure it out… yeesh, whadda ya want me to do? Hold your friggin' hand..' He added with a flippant wave of his free hand causing Nessus' brows to contract as his eyes narrowed.

'Look Nessus, I'll give ya the bottom line bud… either he dies or you do, your call..' The blue-skinned River Guardian blinked in amazement at the golden-flamed youth but the sombre expression on his face told him that the Death God was deadly serious.

'Fine.. I'll take care of him..' The centaur reluctantly sounded then held out his hand towards the deity to shake. Thanatos however only eyed his large blue hand thoughtfully, almost as if he were actually contemplating the shake, before his pupils then rolling back to Nessus.

'I think you'd rather I didn't..' The fiery teen sounded eventually, looking solemnly towards the centaur causing Nessus to retract his hand. '-besides, Herc and his little wifey will be here very soon so ya better think of somethin' quick… and remember, I've got my _eyes_ on you..' Thanatos smirked widely, vanishing out in a swirl of smoky darkness with a wide grin, his gold eyes and large black pupils disappearing last into the obscurity..

* * *

Not too far away from where the fiery godling and the centurion River Guardian had just been conversing, an unsuspecting thirty-something woman who still retained some of her youthful beauty was leading her still-grieving husband towards the Euenos glade.. Meg, who was carrying a picnic basket, glanced back towards her husband and the small smile she had been wearing instantly died. Hercules ambled behind her dejectedly with his sad blue eyes to the ground, he was merely following his wife, too wrapped up in his own grief to pay any attention to where they were going. It had now been a whole month since Phil had died and even though the middle-aged brunette had known the old 'nanny-goat' and her husband had been close she'd never realised that Hercules could be this forlorn without him. It broke her heart to see Hercules this way, her big strong husband, who once fought monsters on a weekly basis, looked like a frightened little lost boy..

'Hercules..' Meg sounded in a soft voice, stopping in her tracks and turning around to face her husband. Sure, he had a few wrinkles around his eyes now, his skin was a healthy golden tan and slightly weather-beaten, he also had a few flecks of silver in amongst his brilliant red hair but all this suited him. It made him look more dignified and swoon-some at the same time, plus he still had hordes of girls, young and old, drooling over him. Hercules' looks just got better with age.

The thirty-five year old hero's baby blue eyes instantly rolled up from the ground as his wife spoke softly, the pain of loosing his mentor and dearest friend still shining fresh in them.

'I miss him too, y'know..' Meg kept her voice gentle and soothing, taking his large hand in her small dainty one and stroking his rough fingers. She wasn't lying. They may have had their disagreements but once she'd gotten to know the old satyr she'd become very fond of him. '-we all do.' She added deciding to include Hyllos, Pegasus and Syrinx who were all back at the villa so that the couple could be alone for a little while.

'I know..' Hercules finally sounded, hanging his head in sorrow and shame again. Her small smile once more tweaked Meg's lips as her husband spoke for the first time since they had taken this trip.

'Then why have you been acting so alone..' Meg sounded softly, allowing a portion of her own hurt to come to the surface of her violet eyes.

'Aww, Meg… I.. I don't know..' Hercules sounded guiltily, recognising the wounded look in his wife's eyes and knowing he was causing it.

'I don't like being shut out Wonder Boy..' She added trying hard to stop her voice from wavering, the middle-aged brunette could feel her strong will crumbling at the seems… She'd been trying to hard to keep it together for the sake of her family and now that she was alone with her husband she just wanted him to save her from the crushing isolation surrounding her. Immediately Hercules' arms wrapped comfortingly around Meg, ensnaring her in a secure and safe hug as his head rested against her high-bun.

'I'm so sorry Meg, I didn't mean to shut you out..' He murmured into her glossy hair and kissing her head tenderly. At his words the brunette instantly turned into his shoulder as tears began to trickle from her eyes with sorrow and relief… he was finally ready to share.

'It still hurts..' Hercules finally spoke again as he recalled his mentor's sudden death in his mind.

'I know Wonder Boy but his death wasn't your fault..' His wife responded flicking away her tears and wiping away her watery eyeliner, smudging it a little but not really caring. Hercules stiffened slightly at her words and Meg knew she'd hit the crux of his grief… he felt guilty for not saving Phil.

'But if I had just-' Meg's slim finger instantly rose up to his lips and touched them, halting his words in their tracks.

'You did everything you could.. it was his time Hercules, even Hypocrites said so..' Meg sounded in a soothing hushed voice, as if comforting an infant child.

'Then why do I feel like I should have done more?' Hercules sounded quietly, his eyes still focused on her face.

'Because we always feel that way when we lose someone we care about..' She responded simply. '-it's the curse of being mortal.'

'And how do we deal with it?' Hercules asked and Meg found herself once more realising how truly naïve her husband was.

'We just take it one day at a time Wonder Boy..' She responded simply, lifting her head and kissing his lips compassionately before pulling away from him, still keeping a grip on his hand in the one that wasn't holding the picnic basket. She then turned back towards the route she had been leading her husband along and once more began pulling him in that direction. It was now that Hercules finally seemed to become aware of they're surroundings.

'Uh, where exactly are you taking me Meg?' Hercules asked unsurely as his wife continued towards some bushes up ahead. When she reached them she let go of her husband's hand and pushed her way through them, her dress catching on branches but releasing easily without tearing.

'To the place where we first met..' Meg sounded as Hercules pushed his way through the bushes after her. The middle-aged hero blinked in amazement as he instantly recognised the stretch of water, the surrounding trees and grassy river embankments and immediately he could recall everything about his first moments in the glade..

'_Uhh_…' Meg let out a lovely sigh as she gazed fondly around the waters. '-doesn't this make you wanna reminisce about being young and dumb..' She too was remembering that fated meeting and how, of course, she hadn't taken him and his 'innocent little farm-boy routine' very seriously.

'_Heh_. 'Young and dumb' is definitely the words for it Meg.' Hercules sounded with a smirk, it was the first time he'd allowed himself to feel and express anything other than pain in the last four weeks, it felt good to smile once more. Meg beamed widely at her husband's amusement, grateful to see it after so long.

'It's good to see you smile again Hercules..' She sounded softly, her smile turning almost coy as she told him this… She had brought him out here to the place where they had first met in the hopes that reminiscing about good times would help remind her husband about the all good things still in his life…

* * *

…It all then happened so suddenly that the next few moments seemed to blur together. There was a thundering of hooves and Hercules only had time to cry out his wife's name in alarm. Meg's brunette and high-bunned head turned in the direction to see what her husband was panicked about, her violet eyes widening as a huge blue being's enormous hand grabbed her around the middle. As this being lifted her up from the grass where she'd been stood the picnic basket in her hand dropped, the contents spilling all over the riverside as she twisted towards her husband screaming his name.

The being instantly galloped off to the other side of the water still gripping Meg tightly around the waist. After calling out to her husband Meg spotted the being's deep blue centaur hind and instantly she swivelled to look at his face… immediately recognising her captor.

'Put me down Nessus!' She suddenly yelled angrily and she beat her fists off his large hand. 'When I said I wanted to reminisce it wasn't about this!' Nessus let out a deep throaty chuckle as his gallop became a trot, he'd ran down-river to a wider, deeper section of the water and predictably Hercules had gave chase down the opposite bank, the water was too deep here for the hero to charge across and he didn't have his feathery horse to help him across either. The middle-aged hero growled out in both frustration and fury at the centaur who was swinging his irritated wife like a rag-doll on the other side.

'You've still got some of that fire I like so much..' Nessus growled to her in a throaty tone causing Meg's stomach to heave as she pulled a disgusted expression.

'_Urh_… seventeen years later and your still just as sleazy..' Meg groaned dispassionately, leaning back away from Nessus as he pulled her up to his face.

'_Ah_, now you know you like it sweetheart..' The centaur flashed her a wide leer and Meg slapped a hand over her mouth to gag.

'Don't make me sick..' She then sounded pulling her hand back and leaning it on his hand. Her eyes then widened in horror as the River Guardian puckered his lips and moved her towards him. 'Oh-no, no, no.. _no! _Don't you _dare_..' Meg thrust out her hands and pushed against his face, struggling to ward him off.

* * *

From the other side of the river Hercules snarled as Nessus raised Meg up to his face trying to kiss her, though it was clear by his wife's cries of protest she wasn't welcoming the advance.

'_Let her go!~!_' Hercules roared furiously from his spot opposite them and the centaur paused then pulled Meg away from his lips. Her eyes instantly sought her husband and relief swept over her as she knew he'd save her.

'And what're you gonna do if I don't… _two-legs!_' Nessus jeered from his spot on the opposite bank, Meg still clutched in his right hand looking genuinely worried for her safety.

'_Sir_-' Meg wanted to roll her eyes as her husband called out to the centaur… this was some serious de-ja-vu. '-if you do not release my wife this instant I _will_ be forced to take you down!' Hercules called out, whipping out his sword from his belt and holding it out towards Nessus threateningly. The blue-skinned centaur only laughed out loud in derisive amusement.

Meg kinked a brow at the sword in Hercules' fingers before turning to face Nessus… she hoped her husband knew what he was doing.

'You better do as he says Nessus, you don't wanna see my hubby mad..' The brunette declared forcefully, kicking out her legs as she tried once again to squirm out of his grasp but his grip was too tight… it was useless.

'Keep it zipped sweetheart, your husband isn't gonna to save you now. What's he gonna do? He's all the way over there..' Nessus stated as his leer twisted perversely and Meg felt her skin crawl as she knew what he was thinking. She knew her husband wouldn't give up on her but the centaur was right… her situation looked very grim indeed.

Hercules' mind was racing as the hero frantically tried to think of a way to save his wife from becoming the object of this centaur's lust… but all he had was his sword. He thought briefly about chopping a tree down, creating a make-shift bridge across but by the time he had selected a tall enough tree the centaur could have spirited his wife away. It was at this moment that Nessus chose to pull Meg in for another kiss, the middle-aged brunette fighting to keep his lips at bay once more. Her struggling whimpers hit the hero and his glare hardened, his cheeks flushing an angry red… didn't this guy know when to quit?

What Hercules did next was completely instinctive, it was as if he were acting with his heart instead of his head. Hercules swung his arm in a few practise shots as if preparing to use his sword like a javelin, he then took a few paces backwards and gauged the length of the river… working out just how hard he'd need to throw his sword. Then once he was certain of his aim and thrust the hero raced forwards and threw his sword towards the centaur who was still trying to elicit kiss from a repulsed Meg…

* * *

…Hercules' sword sailed through the air in a perfect arc towards the River Guardian who's focus was solely on Meg, neither of them saw the glinting metal object flying towards them..

Nessus let out a deafening roar as the sword struck it's target, embedding itself into his chest and puncturing his left lung. Meg's eyes widened too as she saw her husband's sword suddenly wedged into the side of his flesh but she barely had time to react as Nessus' grip on her slackened and she fell to the grassy ground in a heap.

Meg squealed out in alarm as she fell and nearly winded herself as she made contact with the hard ground, grateful that she had landed on springy grass rather than rock and risk breaking a limb. Nessus meanwhile collapsed on the ground beside her, wheezing and hacking up blood as the red liquid of life seeped out of his wound, the sword still wedged in place as he laid sprawled out across the ground.

For a moment neither of them moved and for that same length of time Hercules panicked, hoping that his reckless move had not injured his wife.

'Meg!' He roared out, his hands instantly gripping his silver and red hair with anxiety. '_Meg!_'

At this moment Meg stirred, hearing her husband's terrified cries. She lent upwards gripping her head, thankfully she only had a minor headache from the drop.

'Wonder Boy..' She murmured vaguely in response to her husband's voice and immediately she could hear a cry of relief from the opposite bank as her husband witnessed her movements… clearly grateful she was ok.

'Stay there honey, I'll come get you..' Hercules' voice called out to her before the middle-aged hero shot toward one of the tall trees and began heaving it out of the ground… as it slowly came free of the dirt it's roots were exposed..

…While her husband was wrestling this enormous tree from the ground Meg turned towards the centaur beside her and gingerly she moved towards him, studying the creature as he was dying before her. Nessus' breathing was ragged now and his eyes clouded in and out of focus with pain. Meg flinched as his eyes spotted her movements but he made no move to touch her, he just looked at her through those large anguished eyes.. Meg found her own violet eyes welling up with pity despite the fact that he had been intending to violate her, she didn't like to see anybody suffer. Her slim dainty fingers shook as she nervously stretched out her hand towards her husband's sword and gripped the cool handle, the centaur wince as her hand took hold of the implement in his chest. Meg glanced at him and Nessus, fully understanding her intentions, gritted his teeth hoping she would remove it in one fluid motion.

From her knelt position beside him Meg placed her other hand on the handle, then after a mental count to three she jerked the metal weapon upwards. However, since Meg wasn't very strong, the sword only moved halfway out causing Nessus to cry out in agony as more blood spilled out from the wound.

'I'm sorry… I'm sorry..' Meg whimpered in a soft pained voice, she hadn't intended to cause him more grief she just wanted her husband's sword free.

'Just…pull it out.' Nessus grunted with difficulty and Meg tried desperately to control her rapid breathing. Taking a few slow deep breaths the middle-aged woman tried again, successfully pulling out the bloody sword and laying it beside her.

Nessus groaned heavily and relaxed, the bright blood gushing out of his wound indicated that an artery had been sliced. He knew in a matter of moments he would be dead but perhaps there was still a way to appease the God of Death.. He pulled out a crystal vial and placed it to his wound, allowing it to fill up with his blood, once the vial was full he corked it then thrust it into a bemused Meg's hand.

'T-take it..' His voice was starting to rasp now as he could feel his death approaching. '-t-take it w-with an old centaur's a-apology..' Nessus croaked and Meg found herself clutching the vial close to her bosom. '-if there eh-ever comes a-a t-time..' Nessus took a sharp rattling breath at this moment before continuing. '-w-when you f-fear his eyes will w-wander, sp-spread a little on his sh-shirt and t-to you he will s-stay tr_ue_..' The moment he was done talking the River Guardian's eyes rolled back in his skull and he slumped back on the grassy banks, blood still seeping from his wound.

Meg only stared down at the unconscious centaur as she took in his words, still clutching the vial of his blood to her chest.

The moment there was an almighty crash and the top of a tree appeared on the bank not to far away from where Meg had been sat with the body of Nessus. Meg looked up just in time to see Hercules run across the make-shift bridge and jump down on the riverbank on the opposite side of Nessus.

'What did he say to you?' Hercules asked his wife as Meg quickly stowed the vial of centaur blood away in her lavender dress-chiton pocket before her husband could see it.

'He just apologised..' Meg responded getting shakily to her feet.

'Really?' Hercules responded in slight amazement before swooping forward and gripping his wife as she swayed slightly. 'Careful..' He added lightly causing Meg to smile fondly.

'Must be my weak ankles..' She sounded with a slight smirk of amusement.

'Oh yeh?' Hercules lifted her up, propping momentarily in one arm to collect his sword, wipe off the blood and return it to it's sheath. 'Then maybe I better carry you home..' He then balanced her comfortably in a bridal lift and he began heading back across his make-shift bridge..

'You really are too perfect Wonder Boy..' Meg sounded amiably in his arms, though she wasn't going to complain about not walking at this precise moment…

* * *

…As the mortal couple headed home Thanatos reappeared out of a swirl of darkness, standing in the same spot that Meg had been knelt in only moments before. Sensing death's very presence Nessus opened his eyes and gazed through his pain to the god before him.

'Sheesh, ya didn't even try to waste him, didja?' Thanatos scowled at Nessus who winced painfully. 'Ya just went straight for the dame..' The golden-flamed God of Death-in-training then sighed heavily adding before Nessus could even conjugate a response. 'Y'know what, it's my fault for thinkin' you centaurs could think with your brains instead of your lust..' He then scowled, more to himself than the centaur sprawled out dying in front of him.

'Still…' Thanatos drawled musingly as his fingers rubbed his chin. '-ya might've just done me a favour givin' his wife some of your blood… it opens up new _possibilities_..' A wide smirk played about the young god's lips at these words before he turned back to Nessus, his smirk twisted horrible as he looked down at the barely conscious centaur who's eyes were so clouded in pain he couldn't see anything in front of him.

'But first..' Thanatos lifted up his scythe up above his head, wearing an intensely grim expression, looking every bit the executioner he was born to be. '-it's _time_ to die_.._' In one long fluid movement the lethal scythe hurtled downwards, beheading the dying centaur easily..

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey peeps, this chapter took only a couple of days to write, I could see this playing easily out in my mind… It's been a while since I've had a chapter do that but it's so nice when it happens! Ok, I hope your not all too sad about the death of Nessus… I'll be honest I didn't mind the guy in the film but he was kind of a sleaze, if it were me instead of Meg I think I'd have been raging with him. _

_Ok Meg's personality has kind of softened in this chapter but I still tried to keep her edge… I sort of see her calming down a bit now and how being a mother makes her more gentle. Also I think I've tried to harden Hercules here, suggesting that Phil is the first death of someone really close to the hero, so I'd assume his aging mortal-parents are still alive and probably around seventy-odd in this fic. His naivety about death is also kind of key in this story and is something that really irritated me about the end of Hercules. He was supposed to be this big hero but he has absolutely no respect for death! When Meg dies he just waltzes into the Underworld, punches Hades in the jaw and strolls off with Meg's soul, places it back into her body (no doubt pissing off the Fates) and ascends to Olympus, where Zeus says 'you're a true hero'… Err… SOD OFF ZEUS! A true hero would have more regard for the dead! **waits for blood-pressure to drop once more**This was the reason I started P.o.P because that really burned me up.._

_...Let me know what you think!_

_Also... Hades didn't see the upper realms until he was the same godly age as Persephone was when she first descended into the Underworld... XD_

_Stay tuned for more soon…_

_~Ditzy x_


	47. TeenGods are a Living Tartarus

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… _

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: Lol if you can't remember then I'm not telling you **blows raspberry** and thank you, I'm glad and relieved you think Meg is in character, I did have serious doubts when I wrote it X**_

_**DisneyPrincess: Hmmm probably not. Lol is he really… I bet you're a huge Ray fan from Princess and the Frog then. I dunno who my fav voice actor is I like so many for different reasons allk I know is James Woods rules in Hercules!-! XD**_

_**KaiaUchiha1: OMG I actually laughed out loud when I read 'Hercules… stop crying and get over Phil' XDDDD That's gotta be the funniest thing I've read in a review for ages!-! Though I have to agree with you on that front… Lol Than's evil?-? I suppose he does look that way at the moment but perhaps not later on… we'll see. Can I be honest I was thinking of changing that line to someone else's name and having Zeus call it (but that's all I'm telling you on that front you'll have to guess who's name) X**_

_**Coldblue: Did I call you a 'fat loser' cause I don't remember that… Lol I never make assumptions on people without getting to know them first! Your not bothering me, you're the only one asking these kind of questions. Besides… these are just ideas I have, someone else might have other ideas and if they want to write them they can, I don't mind… I'm not possessive I'm happy to share! Myth will only help you so far with my story, like Disney I'm taking lots of liberties with it so you'll only get a basic idea from it. Nothing gets my back up more than people who complain about it not being accurate to myth, I have a disclaimer for a reason.. Unfortunately I can't answer your question on Hercules and Zeus because to do so would ruin the storyline (I really want to but it's not fair to other readers) but don't worry I think you'll like the way everything turns out! Zeus isn't getting off lightly let me put it that way… And as for your idea of Thanatos dying, hate to break it to you but during the time in Sisyphus' closet Thanatos succumbed to his own powers. In other words the God of Death actually died in the closet!-! When Hades freed him and brought him home the only thing that could revive him was his mother in her capacity as Goddess of Life (his polar opposite in the Grand Design) with Hecate using her hands like the paddles of an AED machine in a hospital… and Thanatos understands his job better than you think, I'm hiding a lot of what's happening between Thanatos and the Fates for a reason that comes later.. P.S. my life is pretty good at the mo thanks! I never went to collage I live for the moment and make life out of what comes along. Money, qualifications, a job don't mean anything to me… life is about the people you spend it with and doing things that make you the happiest! Without happiness your life sucks! X**_

_**Healme13: You can laugh I don't mind, I honestly wasn't thinking of the Cheshire cat when I wrote the bit about Than's eyes I was thinking of the end of the scene where Hades finds out Hercules is still alive and is clutching Meg, Pain and Panic. He vanishes out in smoke with only his eyes on show. And glad you like it, it was taken directly from myth (those details were twisted for the Disney effect) Herc used his sword rather than arrows like in the myth X**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

**Chapter Forty-Seven:****Teen-Gods are a Living Tartarus.. **

'Whoa, your turnin' into some kinda Hitman junior boss..' Pain sounded once he and Panic had finished taking down all of Nessus' details then gesturing him towards the three judges for the remainder of his doom services. This was the second time in a month that the fiery godling had asked them a question regarding someone then a few hours later their dead soul had shown up on the docks of the Styx..

'That's because I _am_ a Hitman Pain..' Thanatos sighed wearily at the chubby pink imp.

'You are?' Panic sounded in amazement, blinking his large round eyes to the teenage God of Death-in-training.

'Duh, my job is to pick off these souls in the order they appear on this list..' He waved Death's List in both imps faces. '-to put it bluntly guys, I'm _basically_ Atropos' personal Hitman..'

'Ohh..' Both imps sounded with understanding.

'Makes sense… I guess.' Pain added as his brain processed this information, it was hardly new though it seemed it to the chubby imp.

'So, Nessus was on your list when you ended his life?' Panic asked cautiously, he expected Thanatos to flare off the handle at his words like his father would for even daring to contradict a superior being. Pain instantly stiffened at his skinny green partner's nerve, he then turned to Panic with a wide-eyed look of stupefaction which screamed 'are you _insane_'.. Panic gave a shaky shrug as his eyes darted back to Thanatos, he was trembling slightly now in anticipation of a royal flame up…

…However said 'flame up' never came. Instead Thanatos made an uneasy noise in the back of his throat as he grimaced reluctantly, batting a hand from side-to-side.

'_Errr_, not exactly..' The fiery teen eventually responded with a sheepish smirk. '-I mighta… _veered_ him in a direction that more suited me..'

'Huh?' Pain blinked confused, not understanding this answer. Panic slapped his face then turned to Pain .

'He meddled with his fate..' Panic said automatically but the moment the words were out his eyes widened in horror and his head snapped back to Thanatos. '_You meddled with his fate?-!_' He repeated in a wild panic, diving upwards and gripping the front of Thanatos' black cloak.

'I prefer to call it 'altering his destiny'..' The God of Death-in-training calmly flicked Panic off of him, pinging him backwards to the floor beside Pain. The chubby pink imp then blinked at his partner worried for his sanity now as the green imp immediately bounced to his feet scowling.

'Whatta ya _nuts!-!_' The moment the words burst from the green imp's mouth Pain's eyes widened in horror and he slapped his hand over Panic's mouth to prevent him saying any more.

'Can you _really_ do that?' Pain sounded nervously, but intrigued too by Thanatos' calculated move to deliberately kill Nessus..

'Apparently so Pain..' Thanatos sounded jauntily, his smirk widening with boyish glee. '-none of the Fates have tried to counter me which is a _verry_ positive sign..' The golden-flamed god's face suddenly darkened towards the imps. 'But this stays between us, my parents can't know about this.. at least not yet anyway..' He added the last part as an after thought.

'What?' Pain responded, his mouth open in shock as his fingers slackened on his green partner.

'_More secrets!_' Panic retorted, taking advantage of his partner's loosened grip to pull himself free. 'Why _exactly_ can't you tell your parents what your up to?' The green imp threw the godling a deep shrewd look, scrutinising him.

'Yeh..' Chipped in Pain with an inquisitive frown of his own. '-why do ya have to keep this a secret from them..' Thanatos slapped his face with disbeleif at the imps questions exasperated… they were asking this now? The golden-flamed God of Death-in-training sighed heavily, he couldn't deny that these were fair questions and perhaps since his father's minions had already sworn to the Styx to keep this from his parents he should let them in on the whole picture… they deserved that much.

'Do my folks still think Phil is Admetus' substitute?' The fiery godling kinked a brow upwards, wanting to confirm this before he divulged anything to the two imps.

'Them and the rest of the god squad..' Pain responded instantly.

'Good..' The God of Death-in-training sighed with relief before his fiery head instantly swivelled around the docks of the Styx, his golden pupils confirming that they were utterly alone. Once he was satisfied that there was no other soul living or dead in sight his golden eyes returned to the two imps, solemn expression of utmost seriousness crossing his face.

'Alright, here's the thing..' Thanatos sounded in a low voice, bending over slightly towards the imps, still leaning on his scythe. '-when I collect Admetus' _real_ substitute it's seriously gonna to enrage Zeus, ok? And when I say 'enrage' I mean he's gonna come down on me with a whole ton'a thunderbolts..' Both imps' yellow eyes widened in horror at this but before they could say anything Thanatos continued. 'Now, the only one who can help me get outta this bind is my dad, but in order for him to be able to help me he _cannot_, under _any_ circumstances, know the truth about the real substitute until their dead soul arrives here in the Underworld, _capeesh_?' His golden flames flared slightly with the last word and there was a long moment of silence in which both Pain and Panic gawped in amazement at Thanatos stunned by his words.

'Isn't there another soul you can go after and avoid Zeus' wrath?' Panic finally spoke timidly with a hopeful smirk, if this soul was going to cause so much trouble them why was it worth taking..

'No.' Thanatos' response made the green imp's smile drop. 'There's no going back now, this soul was destined to die the moment dad and Zeus shook on the deal six months ago..'

'So.. who is this doomed bozo that's gonna make Zeus come after you?' Pain asked wary but curious at the same time.

'You really can't figure it out?' The God of Death-in-training kinked a brow at the two imps and both his father's minions glanced unsurely to each other before throwing Thanatos a blank look.

'Uhh, no… guess not..' The fiery godling scowled as his golden-flamed quiff flared in irritation at their unbelievably slowness. '-it's _Hercules_ you little yutzes!'

'_Hercules!_' Both imps repeated loudly in shock, their eyes widening in fear now.

'Zeus' kid, your gonna waste Zeus' kid..?' Pain gibbered dimly, still staring at Thanatos stunned, the King of the Gods was indeed going to smite Thanatos for this.

'Forget Zeus, _Hades will combust when he finds out your doing this!_' Panic immediately sounded wildly, his whole body a shivering wreck of nerves now at the thought of how his boss was going to react when he finally learnt about this.

'_That's_ why he can't find out about this until the deed is done!' Thanatos responded with a sharp but low hiss of frustration, causing his quiff to ripple orange in fury. His fists were clenched tight and glowing with hot orange embers as if he were barely repressing himself from combusting into a fully-flamed skeleton. Both Pain and Panic winced in fear at this flare up but the chubby pink imp suddenly remembered something then spoke.

'Well it's not like we can tell him anyway, is it?' Pain's voice instantly triggered Panic's memory.

'That's right, you made us Swear by the Styx not to.. didn't he?' He added the last bit with a nervous laugh and a glance back to his chubby partner as if confirming this memory. Pain nodded helpfully.

'_Urrh_..' Thanatos sighed rubbing his temples causing the burning embers in his fingers to cool and this also soothed his flames back to a soft golden colour. '-I don't have time for this..' he uttered calmly brushing past the imps and heading towards the swirling staircase that led up to the throne room of his home. '-I need to act fast, I only got 'til the next full moon to waste this guy..'

Both imps merely blinked at each other with matching uneasy glances..

* * *

Thanatos frowned down, from his cross-legged position on the chessboard, at the collection of figures sat in front of him with Meg's figure at the centre of them all. The fiery godling knew now that Hercules' wife was the key to bringing the infamous hero down… his father had been right about that much. In Thanatos' mind however, his father had not exploited this to it's full potential which was why his 'great scheme' had failed.. What he really needed to do was to create a rift between these two rather than an outward spat, perhaps he should introduce Meg to a rival… of sorts..

His round golden eyes widened as a new idea branched from this thought.. _No wait!.. _Maybe he should just have her just _think _there was a new rival on the scene.. Thanatos' smirk widened maliciously as his eyes narrowed with boyish glee at this idea… but he'd require assistance with this one… the resentment twins Jealousy and Envy and perhaps some aid from Paranoia… Thanatos rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he considered these brethren of Pain and Panic.. One problem remained however, Thanatos was only a minor god-in-training and had nothing to offer these Miseries in return for their services. Perhaps he should seek out Oyzis, the Spirit of Misery and father of them all and see if he could convince him that they're assistance was for the good of destiny..

As Thanatos sat mulling this over he was unaware that someone else had just manifested into the room until they leaned over his shoulder and spoke in a loud curious voice.

'What'cha doin'?' Startled out of his thoughts Thanatos whipped around wide-eyed only to come face to face with his father, who was smirking amused at him…

_Oh figs!_

'Nothin'..' Thanatos responded with a mutter and slammed his fist on the chessboard causing the pieces to disappear into smoky darkness, though he was now wary of how much his dad had seen.

'Didn't look like nothin'..' Hades sounded as his eyes narrowed, a slightly suspicious edge came out in his still upbeat tone as his smirk faltered slightly.

'Well it was..' Thanatos bristled irritably causing his flaming quiff to ripple as he got off the chessboard. '-I was just fiddlin'..' He added squaring off to his father with a scowl even though the blue-flamed god was a full head and shoulders taller than he was.

'Oh _sure_ you were..' Hades openly mocked his eldest child, a scowl of his own forming now as he glared down at his son. '-tell me a new one Than, whatta ya plannin'?'

'_Nothin'!-! _I told ya that already.. Whatta ya.. _deaf now?_' Thanatos shot back snidely and this caused Hades to suddenly stick a finger in his ear and twiddle it about.

'Oh I'm sorry, ya wanna try sayin' that again… I didn't quite catch that..' The Lord of the Dead was feigning deafness just to irritate his son further.

'Y'know what? I don't have to take this.. I got work to do..' Thanatos sounded irately then grabbing his grey clipboard and intending to go out to the Asphodel Fields and hang with his undead zombie-minions awhile. Before he could even move however Hades' large hand clapped down on his shoulder.

'Ah-ah, not so fast..' The Lord of the Dead spun his son back around and the golden fiery teen gave a huffy sigh and a disrespectful shoulder roll of frustration. '-tell me what your plottin'.' Hades' large pupils contracted as his flames switched to yellow with irritation, he knew his son was plotting something but the fact his child was unwilling to share it with him was infuriating him.

'I _told_ you, it's _nothin'_… now _get off my back!-!_' Thanatos gritted his fangs together before roaring the last part and vanishing out in an eruption of angry orange flames leaving his father alone in the throne room, still without an answer.

'_Gahhhh..!_' Hades roared into furious red skin and viciously angry flames. '-_I hate living with teenagers!_'

* * *

Persephone's lovely green eyes widened as the conference room, which happened to be next door to the throne room, shook violently with the fury of her husband's explosion. She and the three Sirens clung to the huge table waiting for the eruption to pass… judging by Hades' yelling Persephone was guessing that he'd just been arguing with Thanatos about something. Although this concerned her it wasn't her most pressing issue right now… she could go and see what was wrong _after_ her meeting.

Once the explosion had passed the blonde goddess turn back to her three nymph-minions and smiled sweetly.

'Ok girls you've been working on Poisonous Plants since the start of spring, let's see what you've got..' Tele, Raidne and Molpe were about to pull out their first plant specimen when the stone door leading into the hallway suddenly banged open furiously and stood on the threshold was a sullen yet still slightly irritable Hades, his flames still flickering yellow. The god wasn't looking at any of them, his frown was downcast to the floor as he ambled into the room. The three Sirens stared at their boss' husband before chancing a glance at the Queen of the Underworld. Persephone too seemed to momentarily stare at her husband before a scowl twisted her face as Hades slumped sulkily into the seat next to his wife, Persephone was in his usual high-backed chair.

'Excuse me sweetie..' The blonde goddess sounded trying to keep her voice sweet but a tiny bit of her exasperation escaped as she addressed her husband. '-but we do _not _interrupt your Deadly Diseases meetings like this..' Hades' gold eyes lifted to his wife with slight annoyance at her lack of sympathy.

'It's _my_ Underworld..' He responded grumpily, complete with childish pout and slouching further into the seat to prove he wasn't going anywhere any time soon. Persephone pressed her fingers to her temples in a soothing manner not wanting to fight with her husband, especially not if he'd just been bickering with their son.

'Alright, _fine_..' She sighed heavily. 'Stay if you want, but don't interrupt, ok?' Hades once more flashed his wife a slightly put out look which Persephone ignored as she turned back to her minions.

'So girls… what have you got to show me?' The Queen of the Underworld forced a welcoming smile towards the Sirens, as if trying to coax them that everything was fine and to carry on like normal. Tele, Molpe and Raidne however all flashed wary violet eyes towards Hades who's hair was flickering a still-narked yellow.

'Just ignore him..' Persephone sounded finally, a bite of aggravation in her voice which caused the three Sirens to look back at their boss as she forced another smile, clearly keen to see what they had. Hades on the other hand threw his wife a sour look, clearly not agreeing with the order… but what could he do, they weren't his minions after all.

'Well..' Tele began nervously with another quick anxious glimpse to Hades, clearly still uncomfortable with him being there. '-we have this..'

The fiery Lord of the Dead had not really been paying attention to the Sirens, he only wanted to be in his wife's company, even though she was clearly upset with him for gate-crashing their little meeting.. It was just out of sheer curiosity that he looked over to see what the eldest Siren had placed on the long table… a plant, a _flowery_ plant at that.

_Oy vey_… The fiery god rolled his eyes at this bluebell-like plant which sat innocently enough on the table and instantly began to drum his fingers off the table, hoping this snooze-fest of a meeting would be over soon.

Persephone scowled as her husband's fingers lifted and fell, hitting a soft but irate rhythm off of the long table-top in front of him… for a few moments this happened then the blonde goddess reached out and slapped Hades' knuckles sharply, her movement was as quick as a striking snake.

'_Ahh!_' Hades hissed, rubbing his knuckles with his other hand, his golden flames burnt momentarily brighter at the pain his wife had just inflicted on him. 'That _hurt!_' He sounded in an upset tone.

'_Good.._' Persephone sounded sternly, ruining the effect slightly by smirking smugly at him. '-maybe it'll teach you not to do it again.' The goddess once more turned back to her minions and the bluebell-like plant and smiled sweetly. The Sirens glanced at each other before turning back to their mistress bemused by what they were witnessing. 'So what is it?' The Queen of the Underworld sounded kindly.

'_Pfft_..' Hades snorted before smirking widely at his wife. '-it's a piffy, flowery _plant_ babe, open your eyes..'

'Your not supposed to be interrupting..' Persephone bristled with another scowl to her husband, was he deliberately trying to wind her up?

'_Uh-huh_… and when did I agree to that?' The fiery god kinked a brow in amusement at her now..

'_Pleeease_ Hades..' Persephone pleaded, a hint of a whine coming out… she knew he was just upset about his argument at Thanatos but she really didn't want to take the brunt of it.

'_Fiine_..' The blue-flamed god huffed before folding his arms and letting the Siren's present their plant.

'We call this one Wolfsbane-' Tele was saying, '-because we grew it using some of Cerberus' saliva.' The Sirens all looked rather pleased with themselves about this.

'Oh, ya grew it with dog-drool..' Hades muttered unimpressed, leaning his head bored in his palm as his elbow rested on the table. '-yeh, well… whoop-tee-do for you.' This careless comment earned him a kick under the table from his wife.

Persephone smiled at the Sirens pretending nothing had happened as her husband winced.

'And what can it do?' Persephone sounded interested, looking at the seemingly innocent plant.

'When consumed by a mortal it can cause, numbness-' Tele began.

'-trouble breathing-' Raidne added.

'-heart failure-' Molpe sounded.

'-it's pretty much fatal to mortals who consume it.' All three Sirens sounded together with a bright smile.

'Wait, what?' Hades suddenly perked up at the sound of this plant, his mind now fully distracted from his fight with Thanatos.

'Ok..' Persephone sounded with a smile. '-so it's a Class Alpha Poisonous Plant, any benefits to it?' She sounded curiously.

'It does have medical benefits when used in a miniscule amount and also has medical benefits to immortal wounds too..'

'Oh great, that'll shut Zeus up..' Persephone beamed pleased. 'Good work girls we'll incorporate some of these babies into next Spring's line-up and see how it takes..' The Sirens beamed widely to each other, pleased their mistress liked their plant.

'Whoa, whoa, whoa…' Hades raised a hand causing Persephone to look at him. 'That thing can kill mortals?'

'Yes sweetie, that's why it's called a poisonous plant.' The goddess sounded sweetly.

'When didja start growin' plants like that?' Hades blinked completely bemused and at his words Persephone too blinked at him.

'I've been growing these kind of plants _officially_ since I became the Goddess of Life, where have you been for the last eighteen years?' The white-skinned goddess sounded surprised he hadn't known this already. 'The girls and I have been having these Poisonous Plant Production meetings twice every year since I hired them..' The Sirens nodded together at these words causing Hades' eyes to widened in shock at this information.

'_Really? _So how come ya never told me about it?' Hades sounded confused now and a little hurt at the same time.

'I assumed I had, I'm sorry sweetie..' Persephone sounded with a sympathetic smile which quickly turned into a smug smirk. '-I like to think of this as my way of contributing to your business..' This caused the smirk to reappear onto the Lord of the Dead's full blue lips and this caused her smirk to widen girlishly. 'Does this mean I'm forgiven?' She then asked.

'Your forgiven..' Hades finally responded after a moment of silence then added. 'So ya got anythin' else that kills mortals.'

'We did have success a few years ago with another little plant known as Deadly Nightshade but I think the mortals are starting to get wise to it now..' Persephone sounded with a hint of sadness in her voice.

'And how did ya swing this by Zeus?' Hades sounded with a slight frown, doubting Bolt Boy would be very impressed with plants that could kill mortals.

'As long as the plants have some kind of benefit as well as being poisonous he can't call me up on it.' Persephone shrugged carelessly, sounding as if she'd grow it anyway whether Zeus liked it or not.

'And your mom?' Hades asked curiously, kinking a brow… she was another one who was pro-life.

'_Pfft_.. she doesn't care as long as it looks pretty… I've been sneaking poisonous plants passed her for decades!' Persephone snickered amused, her mother was one of the easiest deities to fool in the cosmos. This made Hades smirk widen fondly to his wife, he could just picture her sneaking around and lying to her mother about the plants she was creating… he really was a bad influence on her. The Goddess of Life then turned to her minions and beamed widely. 'Ok girls we'll leave it there and pick it up again in summer, keep up the good work..' The Sirens all smiled widely, bid their goodbyes and disappeared out of the conference room, returning to the Elysian Fields already exchanging ideas on their next poisonous-prototype..

'So..' Persephone's attention returned to her husband, her smile faltering somewhat at Hades as she addressed him. '-what were you arguing with Than about?' Her voice was gentle as her fingers reached out and clutched his hand supportively.

'_Urrhhhh_..' Hades' flames instantly returned to gold at the mention of his son's name. '-the kid is plottin' somethin' Sephy and he won't tell me what it is!'

'That's it?' Persephone blinked bemused.

'Whadda ya mean 'that's it'?' Hades sounded affronted by her response and this caused Persephone to smile sympathetically.

'Sweetie he's a teenager now, you better get used to it..' She sounded lightly. '-it's gonna be hormones, flames and temper-tantrums from this point forward.. Our son is just growing up.' Persephone squeezed his fingers affectionately.

'I didn't want him to grow up this fast..' Hades sounded sulkily and this made Persephone's smile sympathize with him, she too often saw their son as the same little flame-haired deity who used to sit in their laps and babble away to himself while happily clinging to Mr Skelton.

'I know..' She sighed heavily before blinking and adding, 'Why did you want to know what he was doing anyway? Did you want to help him out or something?' She sounded gazing curiously at her husband.

'Yes… No…' Hades sighed slightly confused at this point, having no idea what he would've done. 'I dunno Sephy, all I know is he's plottin' somethin' behind my back and _I don't like it!_' He flared briefly irritable once more before returning blue with a sigh. 'I mean what've he does somethin' really _stupid_ and gets himself into some serious trouble?' He frowned slightly at this thought.

'I'm sure he's fine sweetie..' Persephone sounded soothingly. '-and if he does get himself into trouble then he knows we'll be here to help him out of it, doesn't he?'

'I suppose so..' Hades drawled slightly exasperated with himself for worrying now. The fiery god lent back in his chair and groaned softly still feeling tense about the whole thing.

'You want me to help you work off some of that tension?' Persephone asked her husband compassionately once he'd straightened again.

'Would ya?' Hades responded with a grateful smirk, rubbing his stiff neck wearily.

'Sure thing sweetie..' The white-skinned goddess sounded getting to her feet and moving around her husband until she was directly behind his seat. She then placed her hands on his wide shoulders and began to massage him, removing some of the tension out of him with simply her touch. A rare soft smile formed Hades' lips as his wife worked away at his knots, his flames rippling in pleasure..

'_Hmmm_, you're a doll to me babe, ya know that..' Hades murmured softly, turning to her slightly so he could look at her as she massaged him. '-I dunno what I'd do without ya.'

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey Peeps… it's almost three in the morning and I've spent all night writing this chapter, was it worth it? Oh yeh… I love Hades' last line here! It really makes me smile, I was gonna write more but to be honest I felt this line was a satisfactory ending to this chapter I hope you all agree!_

_I haven't written a Than-Hades fall out before mostly because I wasn't sure how it would go down but this one was really crucial to the story… Hades is a smart god, you really think Than is going to be able to scheme without him noticing something? C'mon… we've all had these arguments with our parents, especially as teens, my teen years were awful! I argued constantly with my mother and it's only since I moved out that we get along again.._

_Ha-ha… Seph and the Sirens create all the poisonous plants, since Hades and the imps create diseases I thought it would be fun to have the girls doing something similar… I chose Wolfsbane because Greeks actually believed it came from Cerberus' saliva and Deadly Nightshade was supposed to be a favourite plant of Persephone's.. XD_

_Stay tuned for more soon!_

_~Ditzy x_


	48. The Way the Underworld Works

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first… Also, because constantly being asked the same questions is starting to grate me: please __don't rely on Greek Myths__, this is Disney and they twisted a lot of myths around, I have done the same and explanations can be found in my Little Notes sections in relative chaps… having said that though, some knowledge will kind of give you a small glimpse into where this fic is heading.._

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: Lol yeh, it was kind of obvious from the get go wasn't it? I mean Thanatos was not impressed with Hercules' interference in the first place, was he? And believe me… he does know! X**_

_**DisneyPrincess: Lol, yup… even Thanatos knows how much trouble he's in and he's still going to try to do it X**_

_**KaiaUchiha1: Nope, it's definitely not you.. I was kind of watching Ghost Rider when writing Thanatos' Birth Celebration and the idea of him transforming form flaming haired boyishly handsome god into terrifying Grim Reaper spawned from there so it's no coincidence… though Than doesn't wear leather and answer to Satan! XD**_

_**Coldblue: What cliff-hanger? That really was the end of it lol… And no, I'm not getting into cinema movie monsters.. Why? Because they have no relevant context here, the characters I'm using all existed in the timeline I've chosen to write from and I have witches already in this story why would I want more? And yes, I have already got plans for Lycan, the first werewolf, he's part of my next ficlet when I start writing it… but I'm not rushing with this because theirs no deadline… I already have my next plot outlay on my profile page and no, I'm not writing Thanatos killing off all the Disney characters, too much effort and not enough creativity for my liking, no offence but someone else is more than welcome to do it.. And yes, Thanatos is a mastermind of death and he does kind of echo Final Destination because I agree with their theory that if your destined to die then Death will find a way.. You ever considered getting an account because you ask so many questions that I can't answer here.. X**_

_**Blue Dress Freak: Thank you, I'm glad your enjoying the story and keeping Hades in character is a lot of work, I constantly have to refer back to episodes of Hercules and find clips were he's doing something similar to what I have planned or find something that vaguely resembles what I'm looking for… I've watched so many clips I think I know his lines by heart now! It can be pretty demanding at times.. But it's been worth the extra study effort, I think this is coming together nicely. X**_

_**MissSkulduggeryPleasent: From Greek myth you'll only know to a certain point what's going to happen, I'm adding characters and switching bits around so don't feel too bad, you won't know what's going to happen after that though.. X**_

_**GirloftheArts: Hahaha, that's a great choice of words to describe Thanatos' plot because 'crash' and 'burn' is exactly what I have for immediately after it XP**_

_**Healme13: Really? I was half asleep when I wrote it? Are you saying I write better asleep than awake? And is the straight myths and DA artwork directed at me? Lol a bossy one now aren't we… you gonna start cracking the whip? XD **_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

* * *

_Fans of Jafar: Look out for his cameo ^_^ _

* * *

**Chapter Forty-Eight:****The Way the Underworld Works..**

Thanatos instantly regretted his decision to go and hang with his zombie-minions the instant he laid eyes on them. The brainless undead that were roaming the Asphodel Fields made his already irritated orange flaming-quiff flare more vivaciously while their vague groaning made his gritted fangs grind together forcefully as he glared at them.. Not that the undead seemed to notice. In fact they always seemed vaguely surprised when their teenage master appeared amongst them, like they didn't even realise they had a master until that moment. The teenage God of Death perched himself cross-legged on his usual big boulder surrounded by a ring of eerily glowing star-flowers and laid his grey clipboard in his open lap. Resting an elbow on his knee and his chin in the knuckles of his closed fist Thanatos pouted moodily as he scowled. The moment the fiery teen sat down on this huge stone his undead zombie-minions slowly turned their heads towards him, then began ambling in his direction, the faint light from his golden-flamed quiff acting like a beacon to them and the undead were fascinated by his glowing hair..

'_Hey! _Hands off ya schmos..' Thanatos declared, flaring slightly in offence when some of the mindless undead souls reached out their rotting fingers to touch him. The teen god slapped the zombie hands away with a scowl and the undead retracted their fingers. He knew from past experience if he let these brainless idiots touch him they'd just pull his limbs to their rotten mouths and bite him, which hurt like Tartarus. The zombiefied undead however did not back away from the teenage god, they still occupied his personal space breathing heavily and groaning at random intervals, though they kept their limbs to themselves as ordered..

This surprised Thanatos, usually they couldn't keep their hands to themselves, perhaps they weren't as brain-dead as he first thought… but then again, he'd never really given them a direct order before. The fiery teen god had merely assumed that they'd be too stupid to understand one..

Before the golden-flamed son of Hades could even test this theory a melodious-yet-jaded female voice sounded from behind him.

'Wow, I've never seen the undead this docile before..' The moment Thanatos' fiery-quiffed head swivelled around towards the voice that had spoken a swirl of pale bluish-grey smoke swirled on the boulder and the next second eleven year old Melinoe appeared seated beside him. Her electric blue hair fell gracefully down her back and rested on the boulder, two thick bangs flowed over her flat chest and rested in her lap. Her deep navy blue halter-neck chiton hung from her willowy frame and ended in smoky tendrils which curled up with her feet as she made herself comfortable beside her brother. Her face had thinned a little in recent years as she was approaching womanhood making her face shape look a little more like her father's with softer edges while keeping her mother's dainty chin. Melinoe's face was turned to Thanatos, her full blue lips curved with a ghost of a smile at him as her piercingly bright green eyes scrutinised him in a way only a sibling could.

Predictably the undead did not remain so tame as this new arrival appeared beside their master. Their groans grew louder, more agitated, as their arms outstretched towards this new being in their presence, wanting to grab her and pull her away from their master for they only knew what purpose.

Melinoe gasped out loud, her green eyes widening slightly in worry before her body became pure smoky vapour as the zombiefied undead's fingers tried to seize her, their hands slipping through her thanks to the powers she had inherited from her father.

'_Don't touch her!_' Thanatos roared out as his golden-quiff of flames flared a ticked off orange and at his flare up the undead immediately stopped trying to grab Melinoe, their rotten arms lowering as their deadened blank eyes turned once more to their master. Melinoe too had her eyes on her scowling brother but Thanatos paid no attention to her as his glare was on his zombie-minions. 'Now beat it..' He said firmly, his flames still flickering a furious orange though his voice was calmer. The undead merely groaned or murmured vaguely at his words so he added irritably while jabbing a finger out towards the fields in front of them. 'Ya heard me, go on… get lost! _Vamoose! Andale, andele!-!_' The zombiefied minions gazed at him for a further moment before, amazingly, they began to slowly turn away from the children of Hades and amble off, leaving the two of them alone. The moment they were a few feet away Melinoe returned to her solid-self and flashed her brother a very brief and rare smile.

'I can't believe they actually listen to you..' She sounded, her voice still apathetic though there was a hint of an impressed tone behind it.

'Oy, I didn't even know they could listen..' Thanatos sighed heavily as his flames returned to their normal golden colour. He then frowned slightly at his little sister curiously before adding. 'Whatta ya doin' here anyway Mel?'

'I heard you and dad arguing.' The pale bluish-grey-skinned goddess replied in a softer voice. 'I came to see if you were, ok..'

'I'm fine. Why do you care?' Thanatos responded snippily, his tone was blunt… the last thing he needed was his little sister shoving her oar into his business too.

'It's not a crime for a sister to care about her brother y'know..' Melinoe responded to his words, her tone hardening in defence to his cold treatment. The pale blue goddess then softened towards her older brother and added. 'Talk to me Than, I swear by the Styx I won't say anything to our parents.'

'Where's dad now?' The fiery godling sounded, since he was omniscient he could stab a guess but he wanted confirmation on his theory.

'He crashed mom's Poisonous Plant Production meeting..' Melinoe responded with a hint of amusement in her tone.

'I bet she wasn't happy about that..' Thanatos smirked picturing his mother's reaction easily.

'You know it..' Melinoe flashed him another rare smile before it quickly melted into concern. 'So what where you and dad arguing about?'

Thanatos' brows instantly shot up at her words… Thank the thick structure of the House of Hades she didn't know, she must have just been able to distinguish their voices.

'He wants to know something I can't tell him..' Thanatos sounded plainly as he uncrossed his legs and slid off the huge rock with his clipboard in his fingers.

'Ok..' Melinoe kinked her brow in slight confusion and intrigue. '-well if you can't tell him I'm guessing you won't tell me, so let me just ask..' The pale blue goddess then threw her brother another scrutinising look as she paused to chose her words carefully. 'Is this your doing or the Fates?' Thanatos mused over the question for a few moments, debating whether or not to answer it. Then simply because his sister had already sworn not to tell their parents he relented.

'Mine..' His simple word caused Melinoe to sigh heavily, her small shoulders sagging slightly.

'I see..' She finally replied suddenly looking sombre. '-well in that case Than, I hope you know what your doing.' There was a long pause as the two siblings regarded each other. Ever since the 'incident' by the Vortex of Fire, which neither of them could really recall, they'd been fairly close. They understood each other perfectly and knew where to draw the lines. They didn't have an overly affectionate brother-sister relationship nor did they play many games together.. but when they needed each other they were there..

'So…' Thanatos suddenly smirked, cutting the silence short before either of them had to resort to tender sibling words of affection. '-what're your plans for the night, sis?'

'Cousin Phan is taking me out with him when he sets off to deliver dreams..' Melinoe sounded casually as she sprawled out across the large boulder, leaning an elbow on the cold stone as she laid her head in her hand. '-he wants to teach me how to use a mortal's fear against them.' She then raised her neat slim brows in dry amusement. 'He thinks it will come in handy in the future..' Melinoe flashed her brother an accusing glare at this point.

'Hey, _whoa_, I didn't say out to your mentor..' Thanatos responded raising his hands in a 'halt' position, recognising the look for what it was and immediately setting his sister straight. 'Musta been the Fates that told him.'

'Oh.' Melinoe blinked in surprise, clearly thinking it had been him who had said something. 'Well, that would make more sense..' She added with a hint of an apology in her voice which caused her brother's smirk to widen.

'Look sis, I'd love to stay and chat but I got places to be, people to reap, lives to ruin, yadda, yadda, ya get where I'm goin' with this don'tcha?' The fiery godling sounded lightly, complete with roguish look. Melinoe smirked in response to her brother's words.

'Yeh, yeh, get lost fire-starter..' The little blue goddess rolled her eyes with exaggerated jadedness, flicking her dainty but bony hand at him dismissively.

'Alright sis but don't stick around once I'm gone 'kay..' Thanatos responded lightly. '-ya don't want my undead-guys tryin' to bite'cha, _believe me_..'

'_Awww_, I didn't know you cared Than..' Melinoe sounded in a sarcastically sweet voice.

'Heh, only cause you're my sister Mel, if ya were anyone else I'd just-'

'-leave me to suffer, I know..' Melinoe drawled, finishing his sentence. 'See you later Than.' She waved him off vanishing into a pale blue smoky mist.

'Laters sis..' Thanatos instantly responded vanishing out into smoky darkness at the same time.

* * *

Deep in the bowls of Tartarus the realm of brimstone, fire and fear the sound of shrill laughter could be heard.

'_Yes, yes… feel the burn.. Ah-ha-ha-ha-hah!-!_' The low voice sounded before screaming into maniacal laughter as this bizarre Torture Master revelled in the pain he was inflicting upon the wretched souls in his charge. Not too far away from this strangely dressed fellow stood a heavy-set red-skinned imp who was frowning through large rounded yellow bug-eyes at this strange man. The imp was short and portly like Pain but was completely bald with long pointed horned-ears and a long pointed nose, despite his wide frame the imp's face was slim making him resemble an overweight Panic..

'Sheesh, what's the deal with this 'new guy'? Do you think that's a bronchial-thing or what?' Oyzis' large yellow eyes frowned with slight irritation… despite the fact that this 'Jafar'-fellow had been working down here for nearly eighteen years he was still considered 'the new guy'.. Sometimes the Spirit of Misery was certain that his cousin Hades had merely flung this guy down here to rile him, because that's all his laughter did… still, one did not argue with the Prison Governor of Tartarus, did they?

'Just tune him out son..' The voice of Tartarus himself reverberated softly from all around the red-skinned chubby imp. Oyzis' eyes narrowed at his father's advice.

'That's easy for you to say dad, you don't have to sit here and endure it..' The Spirit of Misery sounded in a low jaded voice.

'_Of course I do! I'm omnipresent!_' Tartarus' voice suddenly sounded sharply, the floor the red-skinned imp was stood on shuddered with the incensed realm. Oyzis fluttered his leathery wings to keep himself steady as the ground around him juddered before it subsided and Tartarus spoke once more, his voice much calmer now. 'I have merely learnt to shut myself off from small irritants like that..' Oyzis rolled his eyes at these words as his mind thought otherwise.. If he'd shut himself off from it then why could his son still irritate him? The chubby red imp chose not to say anything on this subject, his father could be surprisingly brutal when angered.

'Well I guess I could give it a shot..' Oyzis sighed heavily, relenting merely to appease his father.

'What have you got to lose?' Tartarus replied before his very presence moved away from his imp-son as the spirit of the realm moved on with his patrol.

'Oh gee..' Oyzis frowned irritably. '-I dunno, perhaps my sanity..' The red-skinned Spirit of Misery muttered to himself before his narrowed eyes snapped back in the direction of the 'new guy' as another piercing shriek of laughter hit his horned-ears. '_Hey! Keep it down over there, some of us aren't here to be tortured!-!_'

Silence followed this and a small smirk of satisfaction curled the red imp's lips…in this realm silence _really_ was golden..

'_Oyzis.. Ya there?_' A new disembodied voice called out through the blood-red stone caverns of Tartarus causing the chubby red imp to blink, recognising the boyishly adolescent voice of Hades' son.

'Down here kid..' The chubby red imp called out, curious to know what this young deity wanted from him. Thanatos was the only one of Hades' children the Spirit of Misery ever saw on a semi-regular basis. Since his work was down in Tartarus the red imp spent most of his time down there, the only time he ever got the chance to visit Hades and his wife Persephone was on the day all work stopped in the Underworld… although he was kept up to date on his cousin's family by his sons Pain and Panic who he saw on a regular basis.

The second Oyzis called there was a swirl of smoky darkness as the son of Hades homed in on the red imp's voice.. and the next moment Thanatos appeared beside Oyzis with a smirk.

'Heya Oyzis, how ya doin'?' Thanatos sounded brightly flashing the red imp his triangular yellow fangs with a wide smirk.

'Not bad my young friend, now what drags you to my corner of Tartarus?' The red-skinned imp's eyes narrowed with a hint of malicious delight, it wasn't every day that the God of Death-in-training sought you out specifically so it was obvious that the juvenile deity wanted something other than a simple chat.

'I need some advice..' Thanatos sounded plainly to the Father of All Miseries and this caused Oyzis to gaze in surprise at the fiery godling before him.

'You want advice from me?' The chubby red imp blinked once more before his eyes scrutinized Thanatos in a manner very reminiscent of Panic. 'Isn't this something you'd be better off going to your _own_ father about?'

'Ordinarily yeh, but as the situation stands right now I can't.. love to, but can't..' Thanatos reeled off smirking, reminding Oyzis instantly of the godling's father Hades. 'So anyway, I kinda need these favours from a couple of your sons.'

'Yeh.. So what's the problem?' Oyzis kinked a brow confused as he lent one clawed hand against the blood-red wall, leaning on it as his pointed tail curled around his feet.

'Well, I've never had to ask favours from them before and you're their dad. How'd I got about it?' Thanatos sounded unsurely.

'How do you get Pain and Panic to comply with what you want?' Oyzis smirked in amusement at the teen godling, clearly Hades had not properly explained how business was run in the Underworld to his son..

'_Err_, I threaten them..' Thanatos responded to this question uneasily, not wanting to admit to actually hurting the imps to their own father, though he had a feeling that Oyzis knew he had already.

'And does it work?' The red-skinned imp sounded with a curious kink to the brows, his smirk twisted slyly now as he flashed his shark-like needle-sharp yellow fangs.

'Well, yeh but they've known me since I was born, I just figured they put up with my flames to appease my dad..' Thanatos shrugged, there was no doubt in his mind that Hades would have flamed them if they had upset him.

'Miseries don't think like that kid..' Oyzis replied instantly. '-they can have any number of bosses, the only reason Pain and Panic have a set boss is because Lamia and I had promised our first-born to your old man, as it happened we had twins and sent them both as a show of good faith.' The red imp's huge yellow eyes then narrowed. 'My Misery-boys are simple creatures if you force them into submission then they will comply to your every whim, why do you think Hades taught you kids minion torture when you were little? It wasn't for the fun of it.. it was to prepare you kids for life down here.'

'Really?' Thanatos blinked in amazement before smirking in wry amusement towards his father. 'Man I gotta start givin' the old flame-head more credit..'

'Look kid, the bottom line is that if ya want any of my kids to do your bidding your gonna have to force them to listen to you first, ok?'

'And what about you?' Thanatos sounded curiously now, his eyes narrowing slightly at the red-skinned Father of the Miseries. Oyzis only smirked widely at the son of Hades.

'Me?' The red imp sounded with mock-surprise. '_Nahhh_, I like you kid, you need anything from me you just ask..' Oyzis then added as an after thought. 'But not right now, ok? I got suffering to inflict.. Good luck with my boys Than.' The red imp then vanished in a shimmer of black and red, returning to his task as Misery of Tartarus..

The moment the Spirit of Misery left a twisted smirk curled itself across Thanatos' lips.

'Minion torture, huh?' The God of Death-in-training mused to himself sinisterly. 'Those Resentment Twins won't know what hit 'em..' The son of Hades then vanished out with a cackle of evil laughter..

* * *

It didn't take Thanatos long to track down the identical imp twins Jealousy and Envy, they'd been loafing around bored in the Upper Realms of Tartarus, which was reserved for those who'd done bad deeds but being stuck with the guilt of what they'd done was ample punishment for eternity. The problem was when the Resentment Twins were bored and didn't have a target they tended to feed off of each other's emotions meaning they bickered constantly.

'Your just jealous because I'm the better looking of the two of us..' Jealousy smirked widely, flashing his twin brother a suave leer.

'_Hah! _You wish you were brother!' Envy snapped back. '_We're identical!-! _Right down to the last scale, why do you think mortals are always confusing us?' Jealousy blinked at these words before frowning at them.

'Yeh, well… I'm still better looking than you..' Jealousy sounded smugly back at his brother now.

'Fine, your better looking..' Envy suddenly smirked evilly. '-but I got more _brains_..'

'_What?-! _You do not!' Jealousy seethed now making Envy's smirk twist with pleasure..

'Do so..'

'Do not!'

'Do so..'

'Do not!'

'Do so..'

'Do not!'

'_Shut up!-!_' A furious adolescent voice broke up the sibling's childish little argument and a gulf of golden flames blasted the pair backwards into the stone wall behind them as Thanatos towered over them in a blistering inferno of flames that wasn't quite enough to burn his skin away, though orange embers were glowing in his fists. The Resentment Twins who were both blackened to a crisp, peeled themselves off of the wall, returning to normal form and glared at the godling.

'Hey, butt out buddy!' Jealousy snapped towards the son of Hades.

'Yeh, this is a private argument between me and my pin-headed brother..' Envy added snidely causing Jealousy to glower at his brother.

'Oh you did not just say that..' Jealousy hissed venomously. Thanatos looked fiercely at the twins, who clearly did not take him seriously since he was a minor, and before they could get back to their mindless bickering the fiery teen seized them both by the necks and dragged them up to eye-level, throttling them with the orange embers in his fingers.

Both twins eyes widened comically as they choked and rasped for breath as this god's grip seared their throats.

'Listen to me very carefully, 'kay? I'm only saying this once..' Thanatos sounded in a quite yet cold and deeply cruel voice… and immediately both Resentment Twins stopped struggling and fell limp in his grip. And at this submission Thanatos loosened his grip just enough to let them breathe comfortably while still holding them firmly in place.. 'I'm on a _tight_ schedule-' As Thanatos stressed 'tight' he squeezed their necks momentarily to emphasis his point. '-and I gotta job that needs done which is right up your alley… _interested?_' As the fiery youth uttered his last word immediately his form switched to a flaming-skeleton which threw the twins a maniacal yet threatening glare through his bony flaming brows..

'_Uhh_, yeh..' Envy started nervously as he gazed at the flaming skull in front of him.

'-no problemo..' Jealousy added also looking apprehensive.

'-you just say the word..' Envy continued..

'-and we're there..' Jealousy chipped in..

'Your wish is our command..' Both twins finished together with matching nervy grins. At these words Thanatos instantly dropped the pair to the floor unceremoniously and the Resentment Twins instantly picked themselves up and faced the flaming-skeletal son of Hades.

'So who's our target them boss?' Jealousy asked with a sly grin which his twin matched identically.

'The 'target' boys, is Hercules' wife..' Thanatos sounded in a dangerous voice, his flames vanishing and replaced instantly by an ominous black aura. '_Megara..'_

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey peeps! You will have noticed a slight change in the disclaimer at the start, if you didn't just scroll past it like I always do… but after hearing the same questions over and over since starting this fic I thought I would add it so everybody knows the score, I thought it was obvious already but apparently not. Disney did not see the need to follow Greek Myths exactly while writing Hercules and for this reason neither do I, we have a section for that, it's called __**Greek Mythology**__… if you ask me something I think you should know already I'm just going to direct you to the chapter with the relevant Little Notes section in it.. Want my advice? Start reading them because I'm not answering these questions again.. Thank you x_

_Ok, now that' that's settled I can carry on with my notes…_

_I love the relationship between Thanatos and his sister here, I think it's cute to see both children interact here… like watching two sides of Hades communicating with each other but there is also a little echo of Hades and Persephone mixed in there too.. I also wanted to show how the undead are now aware of there master and perhaps how Hades may have been too quick in dismissing them when he just pawned them off onto his son.._

_Oyzis: As I stated in my previous chap has been altered to suit my needs, he's a guy instead of a girl (see previous chap for details) and his parentage has changed here as well. Instead of a daughter of Nyx and Erebus I made him a son of Tartarus… It never made sense to me that the Goddess of Night and the God of Shadows would create all those evil deities when Tartarus was the primordial deity of suffering, so instead I have made him the pinnacle of the Misery family.._

_And there's a little more on Pain and Panic's origins here, which the whole story is really sweet but you'll have to wait for my next fic to understand it all properly. However you will have noticed that since Erebus and Tartarus are both brothers this means that Oyzis and Hades are cousins so in effect Pain and Panic are actually second cousins of their own boss and third cousins to his children… this godly family just gets more and more messed up doesn't it!-!_

_Stay tuned for more soon…_

_Ditzy X_

_P.S. will be posting my first ever M-Rated one-shot:** Birds and the Bees.. Oh Geez Louise..** very soon so please look out for that!-! X_


	49. Bitten by two GrenEyed Little Monsters

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it__…__ I don__'__t own Disney__'__s Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me__…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it__'__s forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first__…__ Also, because constantly being asked the same questions is starting to grate me: please __don't rely on Greek Myths__, this is Disney and they twisted a lot of myths around, I have done the same and explanations can be found in my Little Notes sections in relative chaps… having said that though, some knowledge will kind of give you a small glimpse into where this fic is heading.._

_Little hint: if you haven__'__t read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder__…__ Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work__…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: Haha, I know, more beings in the Underworld don't get what Jafar's all about… I love it too for some reason, I guess they just don't know how to take Jafar do they? Oh well… X**_

_**BlackDiamond07: Glad you liked the chapter hun, here's a new one and although it's a little dull it is important, the next chap will get back to Than I promise! X**_

_**DisneyPrincess: Lol, oh you fancy Jaffy now do ya? Hahaha, well don't blame me if he starts calling you 'pussycat' and leering like a snake! XP And yup, Thana and Mel do care about each other even though sometimes they don't show it… I tried not to make the scene too fluffy because I think it would be very out of character of them to act all joking and affectionate since neither of them are like that. Mmmmm 1000 internet cupcakes… *drools*… lol, whoops! My bad, haha, stop tempting me with cake! X**_

_**Stay70573: I just knew you'd like that line XP And don't despair, I'm sure Than will prove himself not so evil yet… well, ya never know anyway X**_

_**Wonderwomanbatmanfan: Glad your enjoying the story hun… here's the update! :D**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

_Please don't forget to check out Birds and the Bees, Oh Geez Louise which is located in the M-rated section of this category (or you can just click on my name and find it in my profile) thank you! X_

* * *

**Chapter Forty-Nine:****Bitten by two Little Green-Eyed Monsters**

'Hyllos honey..' Meg called out as she held out a brown bag with scrolls, charcoal pencils, a packed lunch and a pouch with snack money inside it. '-the school chariot is here!' The next second a thundering of sandals could be heard drumming down the stairs as the-now fourteen year old Hyllos flew down the stairs, taking his leather satchel while receiving a peck on the cheek from his mother, then rushing out the door to board his chariot-ride to Prometheus Academy in Athens with a few of his friends. Luckily for Hyllos he seemed to have inherited his mother's charm while retaining a certain sense of likeability inherited from his father. This meant that Hyllos was very popular amongst his peers and never seemed to be short of friends.

Meg sighed with a smile as she watched her not-so-little boy get on his school-chariot and chat excitedly with his peers, she was so glad high school was much kinder to her son than it had been to her. High school was not a time Meg liked to reminisce about. Her high school had been full of socially awkward situations, cat-calls from leering teenage boys and cruel taunting from the rest of the cheerleading squad about how 'fat' she was due to their envy over her curves.

Once the chariot had turned out of sight, over the small hill, Meg sighed and finally ripped her eyes away from the road, turning to pick up the wicker basket filled with dirty chitons, mostly Hyllos' and Hercules'… her boys did seem to go through a lot of them. Her violet eyes rolled at the brimming wash basket before she dragged it into the huge, spacious kitchen and over towards the hearth where a huge metal cauldron-like pot stood on a pre-built pile of wood-shavings, kindling and old news-scrolls. Meg hummed a soft, upbeat tune as she took handfuls of the dirty chitons and dumped them into the pot, once the basket was empty she then headed outside and picked up two buckets of water. She lifted them both slowly and carefully and brought the heavy buckets into the villa, raising them and dumping the water into the pot along with the dirty clothes. Meg sighed with relief once this was done then she struck a match and lit the pre-built fire in the hearth and poured in some flowery-smelling alkali-salts then letting the pot boil. While this was simmering the wife of Hercules immediately turned to the counter at the opposite side of the room and fixed her husband's breakfast. Chopped fresh fruit salad and a few slices of bread spread with a thin layer of olive-oil butter, nothing too heavy so he would have an appetite for when lunch rolled around. She quickly set the table for Hercules, she had already eaten with Hyllos before he'd left for school, before picking up a broom and sweeping the dusty kitchen floor as she waited for her husband to appear..

..A loud chapping at the front door announced the arrival of the morning messenger, who would drop off the mail along with the morning news-scroll. As usual Hercules would answer the door on his way down to breakfast then, after a brief chat with the messenger man and a few drachma tip for his trouble, the middle-aged hero would appear in the large kitchen with the mail. It was just how every other day in the Villa of Hercules started… however, unbeknown to the two mortals living there, this day was going to change everything..

* * *

'Y'know.. I feel like I've seen him somewhere before?' Jealousy sounded distantly, as he studied the middle-aged hero. He and his twin brother were hiding in the pantry cupboard with the door open a crack. While the pale-bluish-green imp looked thoughtful his identical twin brother sighed witheringly at him, the slight light coming from the crack in the open door shining on him.

'Yeh, in your dreams..' Envy snorted rolling his eyes at his twin with derisive amusement.

'Oh, ha, ha… very funny.' Jealousy shook his head in disbelief. 'Next time, try being original..' His twin may have been obscured by shadows but Envy could still see him scowling. Envy rolled his eyes a second time.

'So you've seen this yahoo before, good for you, you're the only one of us that actually got to see the outside of Pandora's Prison for an extended time before it was _finally_ returned to Hades as a wedding gift.' Envy sounded with a scowl to his brother.

'That's it! That's when I saw him, except he looked a lot younger then.' Jealousy sounded, moving into the strip of cupboard light and peeked at Hercules as he chewed his breakfast, his nose in the news-scroll while his wife Megara poked and stirred the dirty washing with a large stick.

'Funny thing, bro.. mortals do this nifty thing called _aging_..' Envy sounded snidely with a wide-fanged smirk.

'_Duh_.' Jealousy made a face at his brother. 'So what is it we're supposed to do to this bozo's wife exactly?' He couldn't see any reason for this simpering little house-wife to be jealous, nor did she have any reason to be envious… she had her man all to herself.

'Urh, I dunno do I?' Envy sounded almost bored of hiding in a cupboard, his yellow eyes narrowed as he folded his arms across his broad chest. 'Thanatos said justa sit and wait for the Fates to give us an opening.'

'_Pfft_..' Jealousy snorted derisively at this, his face mirroring his brother's. '-as if the Fates ever give us a break.'

'I know, I hear ya bro but at least this way we'll know if the kid is on the level..' Envy sighed heavily then his face softened, throwing his bother a slight smirk…

* * *

…Hercules finally put down the news-scroll he'd been reading and picked up his mail-scrolls and sifted through them.

'Hey, there's a letter here from King Admetus.' Hercules said brightly once he'd separated the junk mail from the fan mail and the regular mail.

'Really?' Meg sounded curiously, pausing in her stirring of the dirty clothes. 'What does he want?' Hercules scanned the official-looking scroll then his face turned a little more serious.

'He's summoning me to Pherae so talk about the future of his daughter, gee, this sounds important..' The middle-aged hero frowned thoughtfully now as he continued to read the scroll silently, mulling it over as he did.

Meg threw her husband a inquisitive look now… wondering why Admetus would want to discuss something of this sensitive nature with her husband. Ok, so the two of them had become great friends after the 'incident' with Thanatos nearly six months ago, but still… it was a little disconcerting.

'I better go see what he wants.' Hercules finally sounded decisively as he pushed himself out of his seat, not bothering to share anything else the letter said with his wife.

'So, why does he want to talk to you about his daughter?' Meg sounded with interest, putting the fire below the pot of washing out, the water inside was now bubbling hot.

'I dunno..' Hercules responded. '-he doesn't say why he wants to talk to me, just that he does.' Meg rolled her violet eyes at this. Why couldn't people just write their explanations down properly. Her own father Creon, who was a lord in Thebes and considered it's financial banker, was exactly the same.. He never wrote everything down so that the person he was writing to was forced to go and see what he wanted… it must be a power-thing.

'But do you have to go now?' Meg sounded a little dejected at this point. Things had been nice and quiet recently and she'd enjoyed having her husband around the house and all to herself for a change.

'I'm sorry honey but look at it this way..' Hercules sounded with an encouraging smile. '-the sooner I go see what he wants the sooner I'm back..'

'Alright, fine, but what does his daughter's future have to do with you?' Meg scowled irritably as she gripped the handles of the cauldron, which were still cool, and strained to drag the cauldron off the fire.

'Here let me get that for you Meg.' Hercules sounded, immediately taking hold of the cauldron and lifting it as it weighed no more than a saucepan. 'And I dunno about that either, but she's a sweet little thing..' Hercules sounded as his mind thought about Admetus' daughter Iole. He smiled to himself as he began carrying the large pot of washing towards the back door, heading towards the rinsing vat in one of the side buildings of their property.

'I'm not saying she isn't nice..' Meg huffed, pouting her pinkish-red lips as she followed her husband. 'I just don't get why Admetus wants to talk about her future with you…it's none of our business.' There was only one reason the king would want to discuss Iole's future with her husband and that was betrothal… However Meg did not want to share this theory with her husband because she was worried he would not take her seriously. Meg had been here before. But she still didn't get why Admetus would want to talk to her husband about it… did he want him to marry her? It wasn't uncommon for a guy to pick out a younger girl once he'd gotten bored with his first wife but her husband wasn't like that.. Was he?

'I know..' Hercules responded with a sigh in response to his wife's words, completely oblivious to her insecurities. '-but I still better go see what him, he is a king after all.'

'I guess..' Meg sighed heavily now causing her husband, who had been heading to the back door with the cauldron-pot of washing, to pause and glance back at her.

'Hey, I'll be back as soon as I can, I promise honey.' Hercules smiled boyishly at her with a reassuring look in his baby blue eyes. Meg sighed as he crossed the threshold to the veranda outside.

'That's not what I'm worried about Wonder Boy..' She sounded with an anxious look in her violet eyes…

* * *

…Once the mortal couple had left the kitchen, the cupboard the Resentment twins had been hiding in popped open and both identical pale green-blue imps jumped out with mirrored smirks.

'No wonder Hades enslaved this one..' Jealousy sounded with a look of mischievous glee. '-she's practically a slave to her own emotions.' He threw his brother a devious look.

'I'll say..' Envy sounded agreeably his own wolfish smirk widening. '-and to think we actually doubted his kid! She's clearly got anxiety issues..'

'We can use that to our advantage..' Jealousy exclaimed, the glee still shining bright in his mischievous face as he rubbed his hands together. Just envisioning devouring this mixed up mortal made his senses tingle with excitement.

'Yeh, but remember, Than only wants us to fan her emotions, not consume her.' Envy sounded in a reprimanding manner as if he knew what his twin was thinking. Instantly Jealousy's face fell and he pouted with regretful longing.

'I knew that, but a Misery can dream can't he?' The twin looked back at his identical brother.

'Only if he remembers the objective at hand..' Envy smirked. 'I don't know about you brother but I'd rather not bait the God of Death..'

'I hear ya bro..' Jealousy sounded with a smirk back to his brother. 'Now do ya think Johnny Nepotism has gone yet cause I'm gettin' kinda hungry..' His yellow eyes narrowed evilly.

'Only one way to find out..' Envy sounded lightly making an 'after you' gesture to his twin. Both imps then headed to the back door..

* * *

In the side building designated for laundry Hercules had poured the washing and hot water into the rinsing vat, which was an invention of Dadelaus' that worked in a similar manner to making wine. The idea was that you stood in the vat and squeezed the water out with your bare feet. Now that she was alone, her husband and Pegasus had both left for Pherae promptly after helping with the pot of washing, Meg kicked off her sandals and hopped into the rinsing vat, hitching up her lavender skirt to stop her chiton getting wet. Frowning in annoyance at the washing beneath her wet feet Meg stomped moodily on it squeezing the water through the grate underneath. She liked being in the rinsing vat herself because sometimes stomping the water out of clothes could be very therapeutic when she was in a bad mood… like now.

'Urhh, why is he so maddingly naïve..' Meg huffed to herself as she continued stomping on the washing. She loved her husband's boyish charm and general naivety to some aspects of life but at the same time it was tiresome too… especially when some things were so obvious one of Hades' imps could even recognise it for what it truly was. '-if Admetus even dares to suggest his daughter as a future consort of Herc's I'll- _Ahrugh!_' Meg cried out in shock as her footing slipped and she fell onto her back in the soaking flowery smelling washing. She groaned as she pulled her now saturated self upright before getting shakily to her feet, gripping the side of the vat for support. Her violet eyes then rolled upwards as she frowned. 'Well I'm glad one of you god's is having fun..' She uttered irritably towards the sky outside the roof of the laundry building, though silently hoping they were watching over Hercules… she just couldn't shake off the uneasy feeling that the end was near. Meg then sighed heavily, feeling slightly guilty of her jealous ranting, her husband had never, ever given her a reason to envy other women before.. If anything he had been nothing but the perfect husband to her over their fifteen year marriage. He shunned all his squealing fans in favour of her and even when they were out and about he never let too many fans crowd them, always mindful of how anxious his girl fans made her.

'_Urh_… what's the matter with me?' Meg groaned to herself as she began stomping the washing once more, keeping a grip on thee side of the vat this time. 'You think a girl would learn to be more trusting..' She sighed sadly to herself but even as she did, it did not help the small burning resentment that seemed to have formed from nowhere in her chest… Why was this bothering her so much?

…Unseen by Meg the two identical imp-twins Envy and Jealousy flashed each other two matching gleefully maniacal grins, their yellowish fangs glinting evilly.

'Y'know, this is going to be much easier than anticipated..' Jealousy concluded as both twins had already swelled a little in size due to Meg's repressed resentment towards her husband's situation.

'I know..' Envy sighed pleasantly admiring his extra inch in height. '-who would have thought she'd have such a possessive nature.'

* * *

It was around mid-afternoon when Hercules and Pegasus finally reappeared at the villa only to be greeted by a flustered and put out Megara. The wife of Hercules frowned as her husband brought dusty sandal prints into her freshly cleaned home. He'd been gone pretty much all day and with nothing else to occupy her time Meg had scrubbed, cleaned and dusted down their home while her mind just could not shake the ill feelings in her heart… it was like a pit of suspicion in her stomach, like her husband had deliberately gone off to be with his royal friend instead of wanting to spend time with her. Now here he was, back late and they couldn't even get any alone time because Hyllos would be due home from school any moment.

'Hi..' Was the only thing Meg could bring herself to utter as her husband appeared in their home.

'_Err_, hi..' Hercules responded, unsure of what he'd done to deserve such a frosty welcome… sure he was a little late back but he didn't think she'd be this upset about it. He had been having a few goblets of wine with Admetus and forgotten the time.

'Did you have a nice time in Pherae?' Meg said softly, trying to mask her feelings, recognising the hurt in her husband's face as he was an open scroll to her. She felt she was being silly and selfish about wanting to occupy his time.

'Uh, yeh, you shoulda come Meg, Askeles was asking after you.' The middle-aged hero responded with a slight smile. 'And I'm sorry I'm late back, I guess I just lost track of time..'

'So did you and Admetus discuss Iole?' Meg sounded curiously, wanting to settle her jealous heart's fears once and for all.

'Uh, yeh..' Hercules sounded with a faint smile to his wife, completely oblivious to her true feelings. '-Admetus is planning on holding a charity archery contest and Iole is the prize.'

'Excuse me?' Meg suddenly frowned now. Yes, she liked Admetus but he did remind her a lot of her own father… Had Iole tried to speak to him about her fears of being betrothed? Had he ignored her? Or had the King of Pherae simply dismissed his daughter's objections and planned to betroth her anyway… probably. Women in this time had very few rights and honouring a parents wish was important in higher society.

'Well, to be honest I wasn't sure about it either but Admetus told me he'd spoken to his daughter about it and she understood the situation.' Hercules added, raising his hands in wary defeat of his wife but Meg only rolled her violet eyes in frustrated exasperation. 'Apparently the winner of this contest will receive Iole as a bride.'

'That's what I was afraid of..' Meg sounded grimly, frowning as Admetus was behaving exactly like her father had. Only Creon, who was considered the financial backbone of Thebes, had thought a chariot race had been a good way to choose a husband for his eldest daughter.

'Well the winner doesn't have to marry her himself, he could just be representing someone else..' Hercules added with a sympathetic smile to his displeased wife, understanding why she didn't approve of this plan of Admetus' whatsoever.

'Yeh, and I'm sure there will be plenty of creeps who would want that poor girl as a wife.' Meg uttered scathingly under her breath, remembering how terrified of her own potential husband she'd been… this poor girl was probably going to be stuck mothering some lecherous old pervert's children.

'Y'know, I was thinking of entering myself..' Hercules sounded conversationally and this brought his wife out of her thoughts and she snapped sharply back to reality.

'I'm sorry, what?' She asked him, not missing his words but in total disbeleif about what it was he was saying.

'The contest looks like it could be a lot of fun..' Hercules added in a slightly nervous tone, not liking the way his wife was scowling at him now. '-plus it's for charity, every drachma goes towards helping the less fortunate. That's a good thing honey..'

'Uh-huh, and what about Iole?' Meg's eyes narrowed further into slits of irritation, she didn't know what girls from other states did but tough and gritty Theban-girls like her did _not_ share husbands.

'Meg, I don't expect to win..' Hercules laughed affectionately at her words. He couldn't believe she was jealous of a girl who was the same age as their son… even if he did win he wasn't going to marry Iole. Why would he when he already had Meg who was perfect in his eyes.

'Oh.' Meg then sounded snidely as her arms crossed her chest. 'And what happens to her if you do win?' She sounded in a harsh voice, not liking this idea one bit.

'Then I'll find her a suitable husband.' Hercules sounded, looking both bewildered and hurt by his wife's distrust. 'Meg, you've nothing to worry about honey.'

'Who says I'm worried!' Meg screeched out in annoyance as a couple of angry pink patches appeared on her cheeks. Why couldn't he understand how she felt about this whole thing?

Before Hercules could say anything the front door to the villa banged open and a fourteen year old Hyllos appeared grinning while stood on the doorway.

'Hey guys, what's up?' He sounded cheerfully before he clocked the strained look on his mother's face while his father only forced a smile, the air was thick with the kind of tension that only came from an interrupted awkward moment..

'I think I'll get dinner started..' Meg instantly excused herself with a sharp glance to her husband which said 'we'll talk later'..

'What're we having?' Hyllos tried to be conversational as he dumped his school bag on the floor and fished out his homework scroll.

'Mutton loaf.' His mother replied before vanishing around the corner towards the kitchen at the back of the house.

'Uh.. Is everything ok?' Hyllos turned to his father confused and Hercules sighed wearily.

'Ah, it's nothing for you to worry about..' The middle-aged hero sounded lightly, thinking he and his wife would resolve their differences later once she'd calmed down… they always managed to resolve their issues.

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey peeps, I'm sorry this chapter is all about Meg and Hercules but it is really important for the storyline to see how Jealousy and Envy get to Meg, I find this chapter a little dull and so lacking in humour that I'm not happy with it… still it is necessary. I promise Thanatos will be back in the next chapter!_

_Ok, not a lot to add myth-wise, I did do a little research on how ancient Greeks washed their clothes and although I used a small amount of that knowledge I kind of made up most of it. In this ancient society women mostly stayed at home and took care of the house, hence Meg being stuck at home. However I don't honestly think that Meg would let any hired-help enter her home, in the film she always had a rather distrustful nature, keeping everything close to her heart and once she was free from Hades I think she would want to keep her family safe from any 'potential' revenge plot (even though Hades isn't plotting one)… I see her as very protective and distrusting of anyone outside family and a close circle of friends._

_Ok, in myth Creon was King of Thebes but I kind of imagine the Thebes in Hercules to be a kind of democratic society, since a king would be blamed for all the towns bad fortune and there was no mention of a king in the film. Creon in my fic is kind of like a lord and he financially runs Thebes, in a sense you could argue that he is like a king even though he does not hold that title. Even though I mention that Creon and Meg have patched up their differences, things are far from rosy between father and daughter. Meg clearly still has issues with her own betrothal and this is kind of the centre of her problem with Hercules entering the archery contest._

_Ok, even though I've said before that Admetus is not (in myth) Iole's father, her hand was indeed sought by an archery contest. Though the outcome will be a little different from the myth as Iole's father was far from pleased with the idea of Hercules marrying his daughter.._

_Stay tuned for more soon guys.._

_~Ditzy x_


	50. The Catalyst that Sets Death in Motion

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it__…__ I don__'__t own Disney__'__s Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me__…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it__'__s forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first__…__ Also, because constantly being asked the same questions is starting to grate me: please __don't rely on Greek Myths__, this is Disney and they twisted a lot of myths around, I have done the same and explanations can be found in my Little Notes sections in relative chaps… having said that though, some knowledge will kind of give you a small glimpse into where this fic is heading.._

_Little hint: if you haven__'__t read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder__…__ Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work__…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: Glad your loving the story and yeh, things are about to go downhill from here! :) x**_

_**Nyx27Seth: Lol if you feel bad for him why are you cheering the imps? XDDD**_

_**DisneyPrincess: I know I'd be pissed if it was me too.. And I didn't create Jealousy's powers Disney did. Most of the imps seem to be able to control some form of emotion connected with her name but glad you still love the story X**_

_**Coldblue: Thank you! X**_

_**Wonderwomanbatmanfan: Glad your still with us hun! Here's a shiney new chap! X**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

* * *

_Please don't forget to check out Birds and the Bees, Oh Geez Louise which is located in the M-rated section of this category (or you can just click on my name and find it in my profile) thank you! X_

* * *

**Chapter Fifty:****The Catalyst that Sets Death in Motion**

Over the next few days things between the hero and his wife remained tense and while Hercules was preparing for the big archery contest in Pherae Thanatos too was making plans of his own. It had taken Thanatos a little while to finally track down the timid little imp of Paranoia. Once the skinny little royal-blue sprite had learnt that Death was looking for him he'd hidden himself deep within the recesses of the Grove of Despair, a place Melinoe called 'her sanctuary from life'. This grove was on the borderline of the Asphodel Fields and the Upper Realms of Tartarus, a place were despondent and inconsolable souls were sent to live out their afterlife without 'bumming out' other Underworld residents, so it was no surprise to anyone that the gloomiest child of Hades treated it as a home away from home. Paranoia had no idea why Thanatos wanted to see him and despite being an immortal imp the teen god's temper and deathly powers frightened him. So the royal-blue imp did the only thing he could… hide.

The only reason it had taken Thanatos so long to track down the spineless little blue imp was even though the omniscient godling knew Paranoia was hiding out in the Grove of Despair, he could not pinpoint his exact location… not because he couldn't sense him but because he couldn't concentrate while all the souls around him were wailing like massive babies. Thanatos couldn't understand why his little sister liked this section of Asphodel so much, the 'crying-thing' really irritated his flames.. _Seriously, why do these stiffs have to cry? Their life is over. Boom. Problems solved lets get over it and get on with our afterlives_.. The God of Death-in-training rolled his eyes as he wandered through the grove. He had never been a patient god when it came to the emotions of mortals, which was why his job suited him so much. Just slice their lines and move onto the next dying schmo… Easy as that.

Thanatos' narrowed eyes in a dark scowl of irritation melted into a look of devilish glee as he spotted the thin triangular-pointed blue tail of Paranoia sticking out of one of the greying bushes nearby, striding over immediately he seized the imp by the tail and yanked him out of the bushes.

'Gotcha, ya little putz!' The fiery godling declared brightly raising the imp to eyelevel as Paranoia dangled helplessly in his grasp, quivering with fear as his big pupils were wide with terror.

'Oh, h-hi muh-master Th-th-Thanatos..' The royal-blue coloured imp shook as he stuttered nervously. He only hung limply in the god's grip, knowing it was pointless to fight him. 'Nuh-nice day, i-isn't it?' Paranoia added in an attempt at innocent conversation but this made Thanatos' already irked orange flames brighten.

'Don't get fresh with me Para!' Thanatos snapped as he glower deepened. 'Your gonna help me whether ya like it or not, ya got that?'

'What… uh.. what muh-makes y-you think I don't wanna help?' Paranoia grinned sheepishly under the thirteen year old pyrogod's glare.

'Well Para, your hiding in a bush in the _one_ part of the Underworld I hate the most..' Thanatos sounded rudely as his eyebrow kinked in a mocking manner to the blue imp. '-forgive me if I don't find that very helpful. Now c'mon, I got the perfect job for ya and I'm not takin' no for an answer..' Instantly Thanatos vanished out in a curl of smoky darkness with Paranoia still hanging by his tail in his grip…

…A second later the pair reappeared in Thanatos' bedroom. With this now being late Spring Hades had nothing to do but relax until the start of autumn. Usually the Lord of the Dead would flit between visiting his wife on the surface and watching his kids in the Underworld, however the fiery god was still holding suspicions over what it was his son was up to and that meant that since it was too risky to plot in the throne room Thanatos had to move his meetings to his bedroom. Unfortunately this god's bedroom was a place nobody but him liked to tread. Like most teenagers the God of Death-in-training's room was considered a health hazard.. But not because of the mass of unwashed chitons and discarded scrolls that were strewn over the floor, or the strange smell of stale godly body odours mixed with rotting flesh that hung in the air. The real reason nobody liked going near Thanatos' bedroom was because of all the deadly equipment that the godling kept around for 'work purposes'. This coupled with the fact that the highly suspicious teenage pyrogod now kept his room secure using a series of lethal booby-traps meant anyone stupid enough to go raking in his room would be lucky if they came out in one piece. Not even Thanatos' parents dared come near his room anymore which made it the perfect place to scheme in peace.

Once they were safely inside the dark room of the teenage god Thanatos let go of Paranoia who fell on the floor in a heap. It was only once the little royal-blue imp pulled himself roughly to his feet did he realise that falling on the floor was actually his best option. His bug-eyes widened as he took in Thanatos' newly acquired bed, a twisted black bed of sharp nails. There was only a thin black sheet, a pillow and his only childhood toy Mr Skelton which sat there looking innocent. As the timid little imp glanced around the room he realised the grey walls were a badly-scorched black, probably due to thirteen years of angry flames and temper-tantrums and the sharp jagged candelabra flickered with blue-flamed black candles giving the room a dull eerie glow… it really did look like a miniature torture-den.

Thanatos watched with mild amusement as the slim-faced imp glanced warily around his dark bedroom. This was the first time he'd seen Paranoia up close and he did kind of resemble Panic though his eyes and nose were smaller, his ribcage protruded from his almost skeletal frame and he was shorter than Pain in height. He'd heard from the other Miseries that Paranoia was probably the most useless and pathetic out of all the his brethren... Even Hades would never use this minion because of his spineless nature, he thought the imp wasn't 'evil' enough to be worth using.

'So… wh-what's this j-job your fuh-fuh-_forcing_ on me..' Paranoia whimpered timidly, his voice was so fearful and quiet that it was barely audible and Thanatos flashed submissive imp a wide grin as he slumped down on his bed, the sharp nails clearly not affecting him.

'Ah-puh-pup..' Thanatos hushed him, still smirking and winking to the imp who had practically curled into a ball of nerves, his long horned ears drooping. '-all in good time.' The fiery godling seemed to be waiting for something and sure enough, the next second there was a shimmer of minty green and both Resentment Twins burst into the room with wide grins. Thanatos instantly sat up on his bed and flashed them a keen look.

'So, how's everythin' lookin' boys?' The fiery teen asked keenly.

'Everything is right on schedule Than my man.' Jealousy sounded confidently while giving the god an 'ok' signal.

'We've even managed to keep the couple from reconciling their differences so they've remained frosty since their first argument.' Envy sounded before his eyes caught sight of Paranoia who had been trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible. The green imp then nudged his twin and Jealousy's eyes too were suddenly on the blue imp.

'Oh. What's _he_ doing here?' Jealousy hissed, throwing daggers at his cowardly brother and Paranoia instantly winced.

'Yeh. He's as spineless as a Stygian worm..' Envy glowered too.

'That's cause he is one.' Jealousy added with a smirk and both twins laughed with amusement at their brother's expense.

'Hey, knock it off you two!' Thanatos scowled irritably when Paranoia failed to stick up for himself. Even Paranoia blinked in amazement, never expecting this teenage god to stick up for him… nobody but his mother Lamia had ever backed his corner for him before. Jealousy and Envy both instantly turned to Thanatos with a curious look, unable to understand why this God of Death-in-training was siding with Paranoia.

'Why, he's useless..' Envy started.

'-even your old man says so.' Jealousy finished.

'Yup. I-it's true… he d-does say that.' Paranoia added, nodding in agreement with his brothers.

'Yeh?' Thanatos kinked a brow. 'Well, I don't _care_ what ol' Flame-Head thinks_. I__'__m _runnin' this show now and I believe that Paranoia is _exactly_ what we need!' His golden-flamed quiff flared a momentarily nasty orange colour as he fixed the twins with a glare.

'And what's he going to _do_, exactly?' Envy kinked his brow, the scorn in his voice expressing doubt and scepticism towards his brother's abilities. His thoughts were clearly mirrored in his twin Jealousy's face.

Thanatos wanted to roll his eyes at these two Miseries. The fact that they seemed to have no faith in their own brother or any concept of the magnitude of power he possessed was unbelievable.

'You really don't know do you?' Thanatos' voice was soft, so almost dangerously soft that both Resentment Twins shivered slightly under his intrigued yet slightly surprised gaze. Paranoia was staring wide-eyed at the son of his ruler, rapt with unbelieving attention. 'You have absolutely _no_ idea what he is capable of, do you?'

Both Envy and Jealousy flashed each other a perplexed look while Paranoia looked just as confused, proving that since nobody had given him a chance to discover what he was capable of, he too had no idea.

Thanatos groaned heavily and slapped his palm against his face irritably.

'You guys may be able to manipulate human emotions but Para here can shatter them completely..' Both Envy and Jealousy blinked in disbelief before their eyes turned as one back to Paranoia, their brows raised in an 'is this true' manner..

The short and skinny royal-blue imp threw his two brothers an 'I guess so' sort of shrug of the shoulders, though he didn't seem as sure on his abilities as the golden-flamed god slumped out over his bed before them.

'Right.' Thanatos sounded instantly dispelling the silence, clapping his hands together and rubbing them, eager to move forward and plan the next stage to take out Hercules as time was ticking. 'Let's get a mosey on, as you boys already know-' The fiery golden-flamed godling nodded towards the Resentment Twins with a smirk. '-this upcoming archery contest will be the beginning of the end of Jerkules. Now, once I schmooze Lachesis and get her to 'influence' the competition in his favour. Jealousy, Envy, I want you two to set up Meg then _bam_-' One white fist punched the palm of Thanatos' other hand. '-Para, that's when you swoop in and knock her down..' The God of Death-in-training snickered evilly to himself. 'Heh, heh, heh, then I'll take care of the _rest_..' The teenage god's rounded eyes narrowed to match his leer.

'You the man with the plan Than..' Envy smirked widely, flattering the teenage god without all the mindless grovelling which the son of Hades hated so much.

'So whatta we do while your off sweet-talking Lachesis..' Jealousy added keenly.

'_Don__'__t_ let this little schlep outta your sight.' Thanatos instantly refocused on the Resentment Twins, his golden flames flaring a light orange. 'We _need_ him for this to work and I won't have him goin' AWOL on us..'

'Aye, aye sir.' Both Resentment Twins then stood either side of a worried looking Paranoia and linked his arms with theirs, flashing him matching wide smirks.

'Meeting adjourned boys, I'm off to charm a Fate..' Thanatos instantly got up off of his sharp bed of nails then with a wink and a mock-salute the fiery god vanished into smoky darkness. The moment the teenage deity was gone both identical pale-green imps flashed their smaller royal-blue-skinned brother two matching, intimidating smirks.

'You better not screw up..' Envy hissed in one long pointed horned-ear.

'You don't wanna see this kid mad, trust us..' Jealousy added throwing him a serious look. Paranoia winced at his brother's harsh words and looked incredibly anxious.

* * *

The archery contest in Pherae was at the end of the first week of the last month, meaning that Thanatos now only had three weeks to insure everything was in place for his final plan to take out Admetus' substitute. Though naturally, the mortals who flocked to this event had no idea that today was going to be the catalyst that would send in motion a carefully executed plan to assassinate Hercules.. Whether they were there simply to observe the contest or actually entering to try their hand at winning Princess Iole, everyone seemed in good spirits. The weather was gloriously sunny and the sky was a brilliant blue with barely a cloud in sight, Apollo had certainly blessed them with perfect weather, but then as a keen archery-enthusiast himself and a close personal friend of King Admetus nobody was surprised. It was also suspected that he and his twin sister Artemis could be watching from somewhere incognito..

There was however, one person who was not as enthusiastic about the archery contest as everybody else… Meg. The wife of Hercules bit her lip anxiously as she took her seat in the stands next her son Hyllos, the fourteen year old youth barely noticed his mother's unease as he beamed and waved enthusiastically down towards his father, who was stood with the other contestants down below. A few of the weedier competitors were eyeing him warily as if wondering if they could actually beat this guy while the stronger ones eyed him confident in their own abilities.. Megara pushed a few stray hairs back towards her messy bun and fiddled with her lilac beaded bag nervously. She'd never felt so insecure about her husband entering a completion before but then she'd never felt like her husband was hiding something from her either. Most of all however, her husband had never entered a contest where the prize was a young girl's hand in marriage. When Meg had confronted her husband on if he wanted to marry Iole Hercules had laughed at her.. Hercules had instantly stopped when he realised she was serious and added that he was entering the contest on behalf of someone else. However the hero refused to share with his wife who this mystery suitor was.. Perhaps if she weren't under the influence of Jealousy and Envy she'd have a little more faith in her husband, after all everything he had ever done was with hers and Hyllos' best interests at heart… but as it was the two Miseries' influence over her emotions was affecting her judgement, her thoughts consumed by her childhood fears of betrothal and her recent insecurities concerning her husband. What was he hiding? Why wouldn't he share his plans with her? Where did Iole fit into all this? Her head was buzzing with so many unanswered questions that these along with everything else was slowly chipping away at her faith and trust in Hercules..

The crowd around the middle-aged brunette quietened down t this point and as she refocused on the grounds below Meg realised that Admetus himself was standing up in his royal box about to address the crowd..

'Ladies and Gentlemen, in accordance with tradition, he who wins this great archery contest shall win the hand of my fair daughter Iole..' Admetus then turned with an arm stretched out towards his only child. Thirteen year old Iole who was dressed in her pretty but modest pastel blue dress waved to the crowd, her smile seemed genuine though she gave off a nervous aura which suggested that she still wasn't a hundred percent comfortable before she sat down beside her mother Askeles.

'Now, let the contest… _begin!-!_' The crowd roared out in excitement as Admetus took his seat. Hyllos whistled out keenly with his fingers in his mouth before bellowing out,

'Show 'em how it's done dad!' Meg cringed despite her son's yell of encouragement and support for his father, unable to bring herself to be as cheerful… silently her mind willed, _Please Hercules, please don__'__t win__…_

…As Hercules' final arrow left his bow with a loud twang,the sound magnified by the deathly silence of a crowd in suspense. While the rest of the crowd watched as Hercules' arrow sailed through the air with grace Meg's heart hammered in her chest as her fingers clasped together, her violet eyes widening with fear.. It was the one moment in the whole competition where her face matched the rest of the spectators though she, unlike the rest of them, wanted the arrow not to hit the bulls-eye.

Hercules pulled his bow away and watched his arrow as it sailed towards the board his blue eyes concentrating on it's progress. He was rusty with a bow and had been letting his son Hyllos give him pointers as his son was a natural archer. He glanced up towards his family in the stands Hyllos' violet eyes caught his then and for he flashed a smile to his father. Beside his son Meg's violet eyes were wide and fearful obviously apprehensive of the outcome of this match… if he hit the bulls-eye he won if he didn't he lost…

* * *

…The Eye of Fate in Lachesis' left eye socket frowned at Thanatos as the golden-flamed godling collapsed to his knees before the Fate of the Present. When schmoozing the green-skinned fate didn't work the God of Death-in-training switched to full-on begging mode complete with clasped hands.

'Please Lachesis..' Thanatos sounded in a simpering tone with wide golden eyes and angelic smile.

'No…' She scolded him. Refusing to bend to his will.

'Please Lachesis..'

'I said no!'

'Please Lachesis..'

'Absolutely _not!_'

'Please Lachesis..'

'What part of 'absolutely not' don't you understand?'

'_Uh_…' Thanatos drawled pretending to mull this over for a second. 'The 'not' part..' He added with a hint of cheek in his boyish smirk before he practically prostrated himself on the floor before the unusually-stubborn Lachesis.

'Puh-Leeeeeeeeeee_eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease!_' The fiery thirteen year old god let out his long plead with a very extended, irritatingly high-pitched whine to his voice.

'Oh for the love of the cosmos Lachesis-' Clotho snapped cantankerously, annoyed by Thanatos' whinging plea, unaware that this was exactly why he'd done it. '-just give the little _runt_ what he wants so he'll _shut up!_' Thanatos instantly got up on all fours and nodded like one of those irritating chariot ornaments, complete with wide boyish smirks.

'Oh. Alright, alright..' Lachesis finally relented, her shoulders hanging in defeat. She then picked up a single crochet needle and made one alternation on the stitching of the Tapestry of Fate. '-there, it's done.' She added, folding her arms tightly with a slight smirk to Thanatos. The golden-flamed godling then scrambled on his knees and hugged the green-skinned fate's legs in a grateful embrace.

'Lachesis you're a doll..' Thanatos sounded keenly before vanishing out into smoky darkness with a disembodied, '-love ya!' The next second Lachesis whipped around to her sisters with a scowl.

'You both know that this is _precisely_ why he has us all wrapped right around his fingers, don't you?' She sounded with a haughty sniff.

'Of course we do..' Atropos sounded with a smile.

'We're just not as bothered by it as you..' Clotho added with amusement…

* * *

…_Thud._

There was barely time for Hercules to register the fact that his arrow had hit the bulls-eye before the stands around him erupted into cheering. Everyone except Meg that was… the middle-aged wife of Hercules bent her head and let out a very low groan of disbeleif.

'Wonder Boy… you really are perfect.' She lamented softly as her own son Hyllos was jumping around the stand beside her in an exuberant fashion.

'Yes, yes, yes! He won! Mom, didja see that arrow hit the board? It was _sweeet!-!_' Hyllos sung around to his mother forcing Meg to smile at his excitement, he was just like his father when he was thrilled.

A grinning Admetus beckoned Hercules over towards the winner's podium where he stood and the weary but pleased hero strode over and up the slight steps to stand by him.

'I give you our winner!' Admetus bellowed cheerfully and Meg's eyes immediately sought Iole as the cheering started up again. Once her violet eyes had sought out the young princess she was horrified to find that the teenage girl was clapping enthusiastically looking quite relieved by this outcome… what was going on here?

Once the crowd had thinned out a little Megara sent Hyllos out to collect Pegasus from the stables so she could just grab her husband and leave quickly.. They could discuss what to do about Iole when they got home. Catching her reflection in one of the silver decorative shields she fixed her messy bun slightly and sighed at her large childbearing hips. Once she was done scanning the crowd of people now on the field for the familiar bulk of her husband. Meg eventually spotted Hercules chatting eagerly to Admetus while Askeles was talking to her now smiling daughter a little way away. As Meg pushed her way towards the men she began to hear some of their conversation..

'-will make a fine husband for my daughter.' King Admetus was finishing as she stepped closer.

'Aww, thanks, I can't think of anyone better for Iole.' Hercules sounded confidently with a wide smile.

'Indeed. We'll send Iole over to your house once she's gathered up her things. The sooner the 'groom' get's to know his bride the better, don't you agree?' Admetus sounded with a low chuckle as if sharing a private joke with Hercules and the middle-aged hero laughed lightly.

'What did you just say?' Meg sounded in soft surprise, suddenly making her presence known to the two men in front of her. Her wide eyes on King Admetus as her lips formed a neat 'o' circle… she felt a pit in her stomach at the thought of Iole coming to their home in Thebes.

'Megara!' Admetus beamed widely. 'You must be so proud of your husband, he put up a magnificent fight to win the right to marry off my daughter.'

'Uh… yeh.' Meg responded finding her cheeks forcing another smile. 'My Herc's a real winner..' She sounded in a falsely cheery voice. 'But what were you saying about Iole before?' She asked throwing the king a serious look, not willing to be swayed from the subject.

'Ah yes, we'll send Iole over to you in a few days..' Admetus smiled widely at her.

'Excuse me? She's coming to stay with us?' Meg looked confused before turning to Hercules. 'Herc, when were you planning to tell me this?' She blinked at her husband accusingly.

'I was going to tell you as soon as we got home.' Hercules grinned guiltily.

'Uh-huh… sure you were.' Meg frowned at her husband, more secrets… why was he trying to sneak Iole into her home now?

'I was. Honest.' Hercules sounded insistently before turning to Admetus. 'I'm sorry about this, it's been a rough last month for us..'

'I understand… it's hard losing someone close to you..' King Admetus smiled compassionately at them. Meg blinked confused at her husband which went unnoticed by the King of Pherae.

'We uh, better be going now anyway, just send us an envoy when Iole is on her way.' He smiled at the his friend.

'Congratulations again on winning the contest Hercules.. Have a safe trip home.' Admetus smiled waving them off as they headed away from him and towards where Meg had told Hyllos to wait with Pegasus.

'Meg..' Hercules sounded softly as his wife scowled as she walked beside him. 'What's wrong honey?'

'Nothing.' Meg sounded stubbornly as she continued to walk quickly towards her son, wanting to get out of Pherae as fast as possible.

'Aw c'mon Meg I know when something's wrong… just tell me.' Hercules tried again. Meg immediately whirled around to her husband.

'You _know_ what's wrong Herc! I don't agree with this betrothal business and you not only had to enter this contest _against my will_, you _won_ it too! We're now stuck in the middle of this_…__ this mess.. _And I feel like it's driving me mad!' Meg sounded suddenly tearful while momentarily clutching her hair. 'How can I trust you when your not telling me everything?' Hercules sighed, unsure how to answer this. The reason he wasn't telling her his 'husband choice' because he knew Meg would be livid with him. Nobody knew better than him about how anti-betrothal she was but when Hercules saw Iole and his chosen 'husband' together he couldn't imagine a more perfect match… but he needed Meg to see it for herself so she could get on board too.

'Meg, when we went on our first date I promised I would never hurt you, didn't I?' Hercules finally sounded softly as Hyllos and Pegasus came into view. Meg sighed heavily and turned her violet eyes away from her son and their winged-horse, her eyes were shining with the threat of tears.

'I know Herc… but I'm hurt right now.' She uttered softly and before he could respond in any way she whirled around and moved towards her son smiling widely and laughing joyfully as she hugged her son and petted Pegasus keenly, hugging him too.

…It was in this moment that Hercules found himself being haunted by something Hades had told him eighteen years previously and he could still picture the god's smug face as he said it too… _'__Doesn__'__t she make a fabulous little actress?__'_

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey peeps… I'm so sorry about the unreal time it's taken to update this chapter! In my defence this chapter has had so much going on that it has just taken me while to process it all. And I hope everyone likes the little movie quote at the end… been a while but every so often movie trivia will be coming back as this fic will be closing a lot of loop-holes at the end._

_Ok, Paranoia is one of those underdogs of Lamia and Oyzis' family… you know the type. The ones that get pushed aside and forgotten about because they're not what people expect them to be. But don't worry, this scaredy imp will get his chance to shine very soon…_

_Hopefully the next chapter will be up soon! Hades, Pain and Panic will be returning.._

_Stay tuned!_

_~Ditzy X_


	51. An Underworld Divided

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it__…__ I don__'__t own Disney__'__s Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me__…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it__'__s forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first__…__ Also, because constantly being asked the same questions is starting to grate me: please __don't rely on Greek Myths__, this is Disney and they twisted a lot of myths around, I have done the same and explanations can be found in my Little Notes sections in relative chaps… having said that though, some knowledge will kind of give you a small glimpse into where this fic is heading.._

_Little hint: if you haven__'__t read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder__…__ Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work__…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

**Review Replies:**

**AngelOfDarkness1959:**_** to be honest their one of my favourites too but Meg is acting under the influence of the two Resentment twins, their feeding her emotions with envy and jealousy which is causing her to act differently to how she would usually behave. Hercules not telling her everything is fanning the insecurities these imps have created. I think if she wasn't under the influence of them she'd have more faith in her husband and would easily see who Hercules really wanted Iole to marry. I can't tell you what is going to happen between them but things are going to get worse before they get better I'm afraid x**_

_**BlackDiamond07: Ummm, I'm afraid I can't tell you about that but I promise by the end of the fic she will be happy again x**_

_**DisneyPrincess: This will be the last review I write to you under this tag, quite a moment huh? I don't blame Paranoia either, I'd run away too. And Thanatos has the Fates wrapped around his little finger doesn't he? But at the end of the day he needs them as much as they need him, it's a co-dependency thing. And now that you have an account I can p.m answers you need that I can't write here x**_

_**Stella Limegood (My 250**__**th**__** reviewer): Welcome back hun, I'm starting to think you count my reviews, are you? But still glad your lovin' the story X **_

_**Nyx27Seth: I do to, I don't mind Hercules but think he's a little thick sometimes. Paranoia has got to be one of my favourite imps, he's really quite sweet and innocent even though his name would suggest otherwise. And everyone has one childhood toy they keep to remind themselves of their innocence. That's what Mr Skelton is to Than… it just has more meaning to the God of Death-in-training as his childhood was ripped away from him so early. X**_

_**Coldblue: Sorry for the insanely long wait, here's a new chapter! X**_

_**Wonderwomanbatmanfan: Yep, someone's in trouble and someone else is trouble… Lol x**_

_**MidnightNight157: I'm so glad you like the fics hun and apologies for taking so long to update, I will be finishing this no matter how long it takes (hopefully not forever though) x**_

_**Goldwolf: Soon is now, I'm sorry it's taken so long things have been crazy! And thank you, it's nice to know your sticking around for the finale! I can honestly say this fic is one of the hardest I've had to write but it will be finished I promise! X**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

* * *

_Health warning: If you thought two imps arguing was bad, four imps arguing can seriously give you a massive migraine… read on with caution…_

* * *

**Chapter Fifty-One:****An Underworld Divided..**

Things were quiet in the Underworld these days…

…a little _too_ quiet for the blue-flamed Lord of the Dead's liking.

Yes it was spring and due to the surface getting all lovey-dovey the death-rate was low… mostly because seeing mortals get mushy made the resident God of Death-in-training seriously want to vomit, and he wasn't alone with this train of thought. However it was the very fact that Hades had not seen his foul-mouthed and seriously moody golden-flamed teenage son properly since the beginning of the season. These days when he did see his son Thanatos always seemed to be on edge and secretive about whatever it was he was up to. This unusual behaviour only fanned the blue-flamed God of the Dead's suspicions that his eldest child was plotting something. However when Hades had shared this theory with his wife, Persephone dismissed him with a giggle saying that his 'secretive' and 'brooding' behaviour was all part and parcel of being a teenager and she was not going to worry about her little Thanny growing up as he knew his parents were there for him if he needed them. Although he was a little miffed by his wife's lack of support concerning his son's scheming, clearly she thought that he was being paranoid. But paranoid or not Hades knew that something wasn't right… and he was determined to catch his son out.

So here he was… stood outside Thanatos' bedroom psyching himself up before he actually attempted to enter the death-trap that was his son's room. If anywhere was going to give him any clue as to what Thanatos was up to, the answer was behind this, possibly, booby-trapped door. For a god that apparently had very little lifelines to slice he'd been very busy scooting around the Underworld for the Fates only know what reason… especially since all his charges hung around the north side of the Styx in the Asphodel Fields, the undead only ever hung out in one place due to their lack of direction or interest in being anywhere at all.

Hades sighed heavily as his shoulders sagged with reluctance, he really didn't want to go rooting in his son's bedroom…

_Oy vey__…__ I__'__m turnin__'__ into my own mother.. _His mind sounded wryly, thinking about when Nyx used to rummage his bedroom whenever she was suspicious of his behaviour as a little blue-flamed bundle of mischief… it used to really burn his flames when he caught her and since Thanatos was more like him than Persephone he knew it would ignite his son's flames if he found him.

It was highly likely that Thanatos had booby-trapped the door but Hades was confident he could handle _anything_ his son could dish out… hey, he was the guy who thought up the most sadistic and depraved punishments known to man or god, even his own son didn't know just how brutal he could be.

'Ok, I can do this..' Hades muttered to himself stretching his hand towards the cool metal grip of the skull-shaped door-handle. '-he's justa pint-sized version of me, it's no biggie..' He flexed his long greyish-blue bony fingers once before they curled around the handle and with a sharp click he swung the door open. Before the door could even move to reveal inside Hades' whole being vanished into smoke as the god flattened himself against the wall between Thanatos' room and Macaria's bedroom next door just so he was out of the way of his son's doorway. Thanatos' door swung open with ghostly silence and Hades waited with bated breath for something to happen.

Nothing did.

Exhaling loudly with relief that the door itself had not been booby-trapped… this made invading his son's room a damn-sight easier.

'_Pain__…__!_'

'_Panic__…__!_'

The Lord of the Dead frowned in confusion when no little green and pink shimmers appeared at his ankles.

'What the-?' Hades sounded confused before sighing heavily as his flames turned yellow in exasperation… Where in the Underworld were those two little yutzes now? They never seemed to be around when he called anymore…

* * *

Pain frowned as his eyes landed on his younger brothers Jealousy and Envy who seemed to be following a rather timid-looking Paranoia around.

'Hey Panic..' He sounded catching the attention of his skinny green partner who's large yellow bug eyes swivelled around from the clipboard he'd been scanning casually. '-check it out.' Once the green imp caught what his non-identical twin had his eyes narrowed into a scowl.

'Oh no… you don't think they're teasing him again, do you?' Panic asked with concern and distaste, having once been as shy and nervous as his Paranoia in his younger years he sympathized with his skittish brother more than his other brothers.

'They better not be!' Pain snarled annoyed as Panic planted this in his head. Both older twins shared a brief scowl.

'C'mon..' Panic sounded in a slightly harassed tone, beckoning Pain to follow him as he dumped the clipboard on the side of the docks and the pair headed off downstream to see what the Resentment Twins were doing with the short royal-blue imp. '-we better go see what's going on.'

…Paranoia moved over to one of Queen Persephone's gloomy pink Asphodels and sniffed it lightly, finding it's soft floral scent calming on his shaky nerves.

'Ah, quit sniffin' flowers ya big pansy..' Envy said with clear disdain in his voice.

'Yeh, only our little sister sniffs flowers-' Jealousy sounded primly.

'And that's cause she's a weirdo-' Envy chipped in with a wide smirk.

'Are you a weirdo Paranoia?' Jealousy's smirk mirrored his brother.

'No..' Paranoia sounded in a small meek voice, letting go of the pale greyish-pink flower and it sprang back into an upright position. The Resentment Twins threw each other a smirk and raised the same brow at their brother in matching 'oh really?' expressions. Paranoia shrunk in size slightly, his nervous glance darting from one identical twin to the other as they towered over him.

'_Hey!_' The sharp voice of Pain called out and both Resentment Twins swivelled around to see the eldest two Miseries marching over with matching scowls directed at them. Paranoia too had looked around and his tight chest of anxiety instantly loosened at the sight of Pain and Panic, the only two brothers he had that didn't pick on him.

'What are you doing with him?' Panic snapped as the elder Miseries stopped in front of their juniors.

'That big bro, is on a need to know basis..' Envy started with a lazy smirk.

'And you guys, don't need to know..' Jealousy added causing both Resentment Twins to snicker in amusement at their own wit. Paranoia flashed his oldest brother's an unsure look but neither Pain nor Panic looked impressed, in fact they rolled their eyes and shared a knowing look with each other.

'Oh yeh?' Pain smirked widely at his younger siblings. 'How do you know that we don't know already?' Panic smirked at his brother's words while Jealousy and Envy scowled now.

'Because what we know might not be what you think you know..' Envy retorted back causing his twin to smirk.

'Then how do you know that what we know isn't what you think we know when what you know might actually be what we know?' Panic sounded impressively with a wide smirk.

'Because we know what we know might not be what you think you know, so by knowing what we know we can assume that what you know is only what you think you know and may not actually be what we know at all.' Jealousy scowled as he reeled off his answer in one long string, this caused Envy to give a low impressed whistle.

'Nicely said bro.'

'Thanks man.' Jealousy smirked widely. This time however Panic had them and smirked widely… so it was just as he thought. Both Pain and Paranoia on the other hand looked completely lost, as if they were still trying to work out the 'we know's from the 'you know's.

'You do realise that assuming what we know instead of actually knowing what we know doesn't prove you know what we know. So actually we know what we know and we also have outside information regarding what you know so we don't think what you know, we _actually_ know what you know!' The skinny green imp folded his arms and threw his younger twin brothers a 'check and mate' look.

The look of shock on Envy and Jealousy's faces were priceless… both their jaws dropped to the floor at Panic's words.

'_What?-!_' Jealousy squawked out in disbelief.

'Who told you what we're up to?' Envy looked crestfallen now.

'Well, the truth is we were in on this whole scheme long before you guys were..' Panic added casually, checking for grime in his claw-like fingers. 'You guys were only drafted in so Hades wouldn't think we were scheming against him..' It was true, Thanatos knew if his father caught him plotting with Pain and Panic, his two most trusted imp-minions, the blue fiery god would immediately suspect a coop.. So Pain and Panic were both now in charge of making sure neither Hades or Persephone found out about Thanatos' scheme regarding Admetus' substitute. It was sneaky, underhanded and right up their alley..

'So, you guys both know about Than's plot regarding the 'substitute' then?' Paranoia sounded, smiling with a mix of relief and hope.

'Huh? Oh sure…' Pain sounded with a wide smile, finally catching up with the conversation. '-in fact we're the one's Thanatos' prophesized his death to.' The chubby pink imp smirked impressively towards his younger siblings.

'That's right..' Panic to smirked a smug toothy grin.

'Wow..' Paranoia sounded, his own bug eyes widening amazed.

'Oh big deal..' Jealousy waved him off dismissively. 'It's us that get a piece of the _real_ action!'

'Yeh..' Envy agreed, smirking widely. '-you guys only get to watch from the side-lines..'

'So will you in the end..' Pain added with a wide smirk, his eyes narrowing in haughtily manner. 'The way we heard it, it's Paranoia here-' He gestured to their smallest brother. '-who will shatter Meg's resolve then Than takes care of the rest.'

'_Urhh_…' Paranoia moaned clutching his ears and yanking them down hard. 'Don't remind _me_..' He wailed pitifully causing Panic to throw him a concerned look.

'What's the matter little guy?' Panic asked kindly with a concerned look to one of his youngest brothers. Paranoia instantly let go of his ears, his pupils dilating with fear.

'I… I don't think I'll be v-very good at this gig..' Paranoia stuttered nervously, his palms grew sweaty every time he thought about what the fiery teen wanted from him. He twisted his tail anxiously as his body shook, ears drooping slightly.

'You'll be fine Paranoia..' Panic sounded reassuringly with a smile. Jealousy snorted with contempt but Pain scowled threateningly at the smirking Resentment Twins and their smiles vanished instantly.

The next second the authoritative disembodied voice of their ruler burst out.

'_Pain_…_!_'

'_Panic_…_!_'

Pain gripped Panic's arm intending on appearing straight to Hades to see what he wanted but the green imp pulled away.

'I can't leave him like this..' Panic sounded insistently and Pain recognised the glint of sincerity in his partner's yellow eyes. Panic used to be in Paranoia's place so he knew exactly how to help their little brother.

'Alright, alright but make it quick Panic, you know what the boss is like when he's antsy..' The chubby pink imp responded barely hiding his worry.

'Right.' Panic nodded resolutely before turning to his royal-blue brother. 'Look Paranoia, you shouldn't worry about what you gotta do, trust me. And don't worry, cause when the time's right, you'll know exactly what to do, ok?' The short royal-blue imp.

'Uh… ok..' Paranoia sounded before flashing a nervous toothy smile. 'Thanks Panic.'

'No problem little brother..' Panic sounded pulling Paranoia into a brotherly embrace.

At the same moment Pain turned to Jealousy and Envy with a frown.

'You guys better stop picking on him right now, ya hear?' The chubby imp glared at his identical twin brothers. 'He needs all the support he can get cause if he chokes I'll tell Thanatos _exactly_ why his plan failed, _capeesh?_' Both Resentment Twins threw each other an uneasy glance as they realised their brother was serious… neither one of them wanted to feel the wrath of a pissed off God of Death.

'Capeesh..' Both Envy and Jealousy's shoulders sagged with defeat.

'Good. Now do what Than asked and just _watch him!_' Pain snarled crossly…

* * *

'_Pain! Panic! Get your keasters in gear and get up here.. NOW!-!_' Hades roared impatiently as his yellow flames towered with red hot skin. He despised it when minions didn't appear immediately after being summoned.. It was considered rude, even by Underworld standards, to keep a god waiting. Then finally there was shimmers of pink and green as the dense duo appeared fashionably late into the hallway to the god's private bedrooms.

'_Your late._' Hades scowled deeply at the imps as he mustered as much venom into the words as physically possible. Instantly both imps dropped to their knees blubbering, knowing their only chance of leniency was to act so pathetic that Hades would be too repulsed by it to punish them.

'Oh mi gosh, we're _soo_ sorry your intolerably flamefulness..' Pain whimpered fearfully.

'-we are nowt but toads..' Panic stuttered nervously sounding like his younger sibling Paranoia, then both non-identical twins morphed into the warty green amphibians. Hades let out a long low growl of irritation, the only thing more annoying than late minions was whiny minions. The fiery god slapped his face before his skin returned blue, if he didn't want to be found lurking outside his son's bedroom he would smote them right now.

'Forgive us sir, we were havin' trouble with some of our brothers.' Pain added timidly as both imps returned to normal form sensing their boss' initial displeasure dissipate slightly.

'_Pfft_..' Hades snorted unimpressed with this reason, his hair momentarily flaring yellow. '-like I care about your measly family issues, now let's get down to the _real_ family issues, namely… _Mine!_'

'Your having family issues?' Panic kinked a brow at his master confused.

'Thanatos is schemin' and I'm gonna find out what!' Hades snapped at his minions scowling before his face pressed into his imps'. 'And your going to help me find out, _gotit!-!_'

'Thanatos? Scheming?' Panic sounded nervously tapping his fingers off each other, a tenseness building in his heart… _Had Hades figured his son out already? _'Don't be silly boss..' He breathed heavily.

'If Than was scheming something we'd know about it.' Pain added resolutely.

'I doubt it.' Hades sneered at his minions dismissing their words instantly. 'You boys are too close to me… and your useless at keepin' secrets.' He added as an after thought.

Both Pain and Panic exchanged a breif look… _Then again maybe not.._

'Alright boys..' The fiery god smirked at his minions. '-as you've probably noticed Than's bedroom door is open, whatever my boy is schemin' we'll find the answer inside..' At this point Hades swung his right leg forward and with a single kick both Pain and Panic gave a sharp wince as they were booted forward. '-now get moving!' The fiery god flashed both imps a perverse leer.

'You want us to go in _there_?' Pain declared with shock halting on the very edge of the threshold.

'But-but… _there__'__s booby-traps in there!-!_' Panic added fearfully, his eyes widening at the thought of what horrors we inside Thanatos' darkened bedroom.

'Well, _duuhhhhh_..' Hades sounded in mock stupidity, flashing both imps a sinister smirk as his hands turned to smoky tendrils and scooped them up by the tails. 'Why do ya think I'm sendin' you schlubs in first!' He then casually tossed both imps inside his thirteen year old son's bedroom where both imps skidded along the stone floor o their backsides, halting just before Thanatos' bed of nails.

Both Pain and Panic instantly braced themselves for something painful but after a few tense moments of clutching each other whimpering fearfully. When nothing happened both imps pulled away from each other, tentatively hoping that the rumours of booby-traps in the teenage pyrogod's room were false..

…However it was in this second that they let their guard down that smoky chains snaked out of the darkness and swiftly wrapped themselves around the imps. Both Pain and Panic instantly cried out in alarm as the pair were dragged off by some invisible force towards a shadow of pitch black at the far end of his dimly lit room. Before either imp could give out more than a yelping squeal of shock smoky gags covered their mouths and they were lost as something slammed shut with a loud bang.

Hades could only blink in shock as Thanatos' bedroom swallowed up his two most loyal minions.

'_Whoa_… impressive.' The blue fiery god sounded with faint admiration towards his son. 'I gotta start givin' the Li'l Flame Head more credit.' Hades then stroked his chin, still stood outside the door pondering his next move. Then instantly an idea sparked in his mind.

'Oh, _girls! _Can you c'mere a minute?' Hades crooned sweetly, his lips curling into a suave leer and seconds after the three Sirens appeared each wearing an identical girly smile.

'Here we are..' Tele trilled brightly.

'Ready to serve..' Raidne added just as animatedly.

'Just like always Master Hades..' Molpe finished and all three girls tittered lightly then curtsied politely. Hades refrained from sighing as the girls looked bright and eager to please, he envied his wife for having such competent minions.. But since Persephone had the afternoon off today and was down in the throne room with some of her girlfriends and Hermes holding a gossipy afternoon tea he was free to use her minions for his own purposes.

'Alright girls, I'm havin' a little trouble with Than and I need you to-' Hades was cut off at this point.

'Uh-oh, trouble with the son..' Raidne nudged Molpe and winked at Tele.

'No wonder he's skulking in the hallway with Thanatos' door wide open.' The eldest Siren quipped.

'And now he needs our help to snoop on his son..' Molpe added and all three soft minty-green nymph-girls rolled their violet eyes then tisked together shaking their identical ice-blonde ponytails.

'Yeh, yeh, yeh.. I'ma real jerk, now can we move on.' Hades sounded and all three girls nodded. 'Good. What I want ya to do is to dematerialize and reappear inside the room threshold.'

'Why can't we just walk through the door?' Tele asked pointed to the open door.

'_Ehh_, the imps tried that and one of Than's booby-traps..' Hades said casually before seeing the Siren's eyes widen in shock.

'W-what?' Tele sounded in surprise.

'Booby traps..' Raidne gasped out.

'Tele I'm scared..' Molpe added, clinging to her oldest sister with slight fear.

'Alright, alright, alright..' Hades sounded waving his hands in a 'quiet down' manner. 'I know what I'm askin' is a lot girls but I'd be really grateful if ya could just…' Hades paused twirling his wrist looking for the right expression to use. '-take one for the team..' He flashed them a persuasive grin.

Tele sighed heavily as she clutched Molpe who still looked scared about the idea of Thanatos' bedroom horrors.

'Ok Master Hades, we'll do it.' She added taking one of Molpe's hands while Tele held the other. 'Together.' She added to her sisters with an encouraging smile.

'Together.' The other two responded and this made Molpe smile as they vanished out in a faint green light.

'Awww, that's so nice..' Hades sounded with faint admiration before his smile dropped. 'Wish my sisters had been that supportive… lousy Fates.' He muttered as an afterthought and pouted moodily, those three twisted sisters always used him as a pawn for their little schemes then laughed at his expense.

The Sirens all had their eyes screwed tight shut when they reappeared in the centre of Thanatos' bedroom and after a few tense moments of waiting Tele winked an eye open then relaxed when nothing happened. Sensing their sister unwind both Raidne and Molpe opened their eyes too and peered into the murky darkness that was Thanatos' bedroom.

'Now what should we do Master Hades?' Tele called out towards their boss.

'Justa sec.' Hades called back before he appeared out of a curl of smoke beside the girls. 'Nice work ladies I believe I can take it from here..' The fiery god sounded before his attention was drawn to the dimly lit blue candles on the spiny candelabra above them. Snapping his fingers the flames instantly became brighter lighting the room further to reveal the sharp work-related implements and a clearer indication of where more booby-traps were hidden. Hades' golden eyes narrowed at a few carefully placed trip-wires and snap-traps… his son had gone to a lot of effort to secure his room. Clearly there was something he didn't want anybody to find in here… _perhaps a scheme he was cooking?_ Recognising that they were being dismissed and looking relieved to be the three Sirens white feathery wings appeared out of nowhere and the three girls fluttered off out of the doorway with a polite wave to their boss.

Hades smirked to himself, getting inside Thanatos' bedroom had been slightly easier than expected but it had cost him both of his own minions just to get this far. The blue fiery god looked around the room wondering just what had swallowed up his imps but apart from Than's old black wooden toy-chest in the far corner of the room with his dark-stone wardrobe, there seemed to be nowhere else the imps could be. It didn't help that the room was eerily silent now, wherever Pain and Panic were they were bound tight and silenced accordingly as the room gave no hint of their whereabouts.

Deciding that he would figure out the location of his minions later the blue fiery god turned his attention towards his son's bed of nails which was raised off of the ground by four intricately designed black-metal feet. It had been a birthday gift from his Uncle Bacchus who'd been travelling around Asia Minor last summer but despite it's vicious look the bed was surprisingly comfortable. His attention was caught by the small collection of things poking out of the underside of Thanatos' bed. Amongst the dust were a few copies of Playgod and a How to Guide a Near-Death Experience scroll was a chessboard, it was this last item that perked his interest. Mindful of the fact that his son had rigged traps the blue-flamed god's arm twisted into a smoky tendril and carefully pulled out the chessboard… on the board was a selection of pieces but before Hades could properly assess the layout of the pieces a voice spoke from behind him.

'Whatta ya doin' in here dad?' Hades' golden eyes widened in shock and instantly the chessboard dematerialized from his hands and the Lord of the Dead turned to face his son with a smirk.

'Than..' He drawled cheerfully with a wide smirk to his teenage son as Thanatos kinked a curious brow. '-there ya are kiddo, I was just lookin' for ya..'

'Really..' The golden-flamed godling responded with a deadpan expression, not believing his father for a second.

'Sure..' Hades continued in a light and breezy voice. 'Your mother's downstairs gossipin' with her girlfriends so I thought you and I could do a li'l father-brat bondin', y'know torment the dammed, torture a few minions, stuff like that, whadda ya say, huh?' He smirked widely with his arms out beckoning his son to agree. For a long moment Thanatos threw he father a searching look, he knew the wily old god had been searching his room for proof of a plot but he had no concrete evidence to call him on it and this mush about wanting to spend some quality time with him was very convincing… and tempting since he was suggesting two of Thanatos' favourite activities.

'_Well__…_' The fiery teen drawled mulling over his father's words. 'Ok, why not?' He added with a smirk, if he kept his father occupied for a while the imps could use this distraction to their advantage. 'But just gimmie a sec, ok?' The teenage pyrogod added with an innocent smile, he didn't want his father to know he was onto him.

'Sure thing brat..' Hades responded with a wide smirk, thinking he may just have got away with snooping around without his son figuring it out. He then instantly dematerialized out in a guff of smoke and blue flames leaving Thanatos on his own.

Thanatos instantly strode over to the bed, bent down and checked underneath. The chessboard and all the pieces on it were in the exact same place he had left them. Thanatos breathed out a sigh of relief… His father had not figured out his plan.

'Thank the Fates..' He muttered before straightening then striding over to his wardrobe and yanking the right-hand door open. Instantly Pain and Panic fell out of it, their smoky binds and gag disappearing the instant they hit the ground.

'Whew…' Pain sighed out in relief. 'That was close..'

'Too close.' Panic added with a sigh of his own. 'He's getting really suspicious Thanatos..'

'I agree, he so very nearly had us figured out…' The golden-flamed god sounded irritated by this, sometimes his dad was just too damn smart for his own good. '-now go tell Envy and Jealousy to get up there pronto while I keep the old man distracted, we need Paranoia in place by the end of the week.'

'Aye, aye Junior boss.' Pain and Panic quipped together and vanished out in in shimmers of green and pink. Thanatos shook his head before he too vanished out into smoky darkness to his father's side..

* * *

'Mom?' Melinoe's voice made the small gathering of goddesses and Hermes who were sitting in the throne room with Persephone's good black-bone clay tea-set with a delicately painted white skull and blood-red rose on the side, a wedding gift from Nyx and Erebus.

'What's wrong Mel sweetie?' Persephone asked as her best friends Cyane, Hermes and Psyche looked around along with the Mother of the Miseries Lamia and a lilac-skinned goddess with deep purple hair tied back in.

Melinoe looked a little shy as she really didn't like discussing private things in front of a large crowd of people. However the pale bluish-grey goddess kept her focus on her mother who looked genuinely concerned.

'Do you know if dad has given my devine purpose any thought?' Melinoe's brilliant blue hair swished as she asked this question. Her father had not mentioned anything of this to her since he'd agreed to think about her purpose six months ago.

'Oh..' Persephone's bright green eyes widened in surprise then she placed a finger to her cherry lips in thought. 'I really don't know Melinoe, lately he's been kinda obsessed with the idea that your brother is scheming something behind his back and you know how your daddy gets when he's got an idea in his head.' She eventually responded with a smile.

'Oh man, he's like Cerberus with a bone..' Hermes drawled lazily as he picked up one of Persephone's home-made cakes and took a bite. '-he just won't let it go.'

'Why are you in such a hurry to receive your devine purpose anyway?' Pasithea added with a kind smile to her niece. 'You should be enjoying your freedom while you still have it my dear.' The Goddess of Hallucinations smiled sweetly.

'She's right.' Lamia chipped in with a sympathetic smile to Melinoe as she picked up her cup and saucer. 'These are the best decades of your life, no responsibilities..'

'No worries..' Cyane added.

'No stress..' Hermes added wistfully.

'No bossy gods on your case..' Psyche sounded winking at Melinoe.

'Complete and total freedom..' Persephone sounded with a hint of jealousy in her light tone. Her daughter had no idea just how good she had it right now. Demeter had never been as lenient with her as she and Hades were to Melinoe.

'But Thanatos has a job-' Melinoe began but was forestalled by Hermes.

'Only because the Big-Z was threatenin' to seal him away for eternity.' The short blue Messenger God sounded grimly.

'And it wasn't a choice your father and I made lightly sweetie..' Persephone added with a hint of sorrow in her tone. '-we basically had to force your brother to grow up and sacrifice his childhood early, he doesn't want to do the same to you..'

'Everything changes when you receive your purpose..' Pasithea sounded seriously. 'There are things expected of you that a god of your age just shouldn't have to deal with. And then there's the pressures of Olympus to deal with, and as you know they don't think too kindly of Underworld deities… present company excluded of course.' The Goddess of Hallucinations added with a smile to Psyche and Hermes who lived on the big cloud. Both Olympians smiled back not offended in the slightest.

'You shouldn't be in a rush to grow up, you should just enjoy being a child and worry about your purpose when you get it..' Lamia said lifting her tea cup to her lips but before she could take a sip her left eyeball slipped out of it's socket and landed in the cup with a small splash. 'Whoops, there's an eyeball in my tea, how embarrassing..' Her soft green skin flushed slightly as her eye floated in the murky green hemlock tea. She then fished it out, sucked the tea off and popped the eyeball back in her socket.

'_Urgh_..' Cyane shivered slightly. '-that always freaks me out when you do that..' The little pale blue nymph pulled a grimace.

'Well you have Hera to thank for it.' Lamia responded lightly. 'Not that I'm complaining, if she hadn't turned me into this form I'd have never met my husband..' Melinoe who was used to seeing the Mother of the Miseries eyes falling out didn't pay this any attention but turned to her mother when Persephone gripped her bony wrist gently.

'I'm sure your father hasn't forgotten you sweetie, it's just he has..' Persephone trailed off twirling her wrist trying to think. She didn't want to say that her husband was obsessed with the idea that Thanatos was plotting something so the Goddess of Life simply added, '-other things on his mind.' Melinoe rolled her green eyes t this.

'Ok, sure, whatever.' She quipped. 'But whenever dad can be bothered to mull it over let me know.' The bluish-grey goddess then turned and stalked off moodily down the corridor leaving her mother and her friends to their tea. The four women and Hermes all stared back in surprise at Melinoe's response.

'Oh my..' Persephone sounded with a sense of pity in her heart. '-maybe she truly is ready for her purpose.'

'Then you should talk to the flaming hubby..' Pasithea suggested as the others nodded eagerly.

'I will..' The Queen of the Underworld then paused before adding under her breath so the others didn't hear, '-as soon as he stops obsessing over Thanatos.'

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey Peeps! Ok, a serious apology to all my fans for my inexcusable absence for the last month and a half. My only excuse is that last month my dad got married to his third wife and all my focus was on that.. Even so, I am so sorry for my lengthy absence. To make it up to you guys I've made this chapter a little longer than normal and hopefully the next chapter won't take a month and a half to write!_

_Stay tuned for more soon! _

_~Ditzy x_


	52. A Princess arrives in Thebes

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it__…__ I don__'__t own Disney__'__s Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me__…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it__'__s forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first__…__ Also, because constantly being asked the same questions is starting to grate me: please __don't rely on Greek Myths__, this is Disney and they twisted a lot of myths around, I have done the same and explanations can be found in my Little Notes sections in relative chaps… having said that though, some knowledge will kind of give you a small glimpse into where this fic is heading.._

_Little hint: if you haven__'__t read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder__…__ Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work__…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

**_Review Reply:_**

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: No worries, just grateful for the review. Been busy myself so know how it is! Pain and Panic really are great big brothers… Once again poor Mel has been pushed aside in favour of her brother X**_

_**BlackDiamond07: Again, your gonna have to wait until Hades is over this 'obsession' with Thanatos' scheming to find out… the fiery god is getting suspicious of his son X**_

_**DiscordantPrincess: I'm sure Hades doesn't mean to forget about his daughter, he just has a one-track mind and when Hades is suspicious everything else goes out the window, so to speak. I gotta say though, I think Pain and panic would be offended by the 'Ben and Jerry's' comment… but they are super big brothers for sticking up for Para X**_

_**Fireleaf: Hmmm, I've never even considered a Hermes/Cya pairing before. Though I'm sure I wrote somewhere she had the hots for Apollo… Maia (Hermes' mother would be thrilled by the set). It's nice to see you so keen on the couple and I can see it, they have the same sort of friendly personality, even though Cyane is definitely much shier than Hermes… X **_

_**Nyx27Seth: Yup… Than looks at Playgod! And I don't want to know what Than looks at, with only the choice of immortal or dead the god could be into anything! And that argument between the imp brothers gave me a massive migraine! X**_

_**Coldblue: Yeh, in the next two chaps it will definitely happen! X**_

_**Wonderwomanbatmanfan: Yes indeed it is! After this chap! X**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

* * *

_Dedicated to all who survived the end of the world: Merry Christmas…. Love Ditzy Xx_

* * *

**Chapter Fifty-Two:****A Princess arrives in Thebes**

Iole arrived at the villa of Hercules a few days later just as agreed. The young princess had never been outside the city of Pherae before so staying with this family and learning to fend for herself was going to be a whole new experience, one the princess had actually been looking forward to. Not only was she going to be living in the home of the living legend Hercules and his nice family but she was also getting the chance to discover things for herself without her parents or their servants citing proper royal etiquette to her.

Hercules welcomed Iole warmly and ushered the dark-blonde princess inside, taking her large trunk of belongings and lifting it as if it were merely a grocery bag. As usual his feat of strength impressed the young princess and her candy-pink lips curled into a perfect 'o' shape. She'd always heard he was strong but had never actually seen him perform anything before. It had taken two struggling servants just to carry her trunk to the front door.

'Wow Mr Hercules..' Iole sounded in her soft well-mannered voice. '-you really are strong.'

'Heh, I know.' Hercules replied casually, he was used to comments about his strength when people first saw him lift heavy things.. 'For some reason people always think that my strength is just a rumour but you'll get used to seeing it the longer you're here.' He flashed her a warm boyish smile and the young princess smiled back, some of her initial nerves about living with a new family fading.

'So, is it really true you're actually a son of Zeus?' Iole asked curiously, unable to help herself. Hercules put her large trunk down at the foot of the large staircase to the second floor of the villa and turned to look at the young princess. Iole immediately flushed with slight embarrassment thinking she'd gone to far, her parents had often scolded her for prying too far into people's affairs… apparently it wasn't 'proper' for a princess to ask questions concerning one's private life. The middle-aged hero only smiled warmly towards her and her fears about her question melted away.

'No. That, I'm afraid, is just a rumour..' Hercules replied lightly, though inside his gut twisted uncomfortably. When he and Meg had decided to keep the gods out of Hyllos' life they'd also agreed that he would also believe that Alcmene and Amphitryon were his true grandparents. Though initially unhappy about this both Zeus and Hera agreed it was for the best, any godly blood in Hyllos would be very faint and he would most likely live a mortal life like his mother Meg.

'Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry..' The young princess said softly, instantly apologising for her curiosity.

'Ah, it's alright Princess Iole..' Hercules waved her off with a smirk. '-if you don't ask you'll never know.'

'Iole..' The young princess corrected the hero. 'Please just call me Iole.' She smiled sweetly at the hero.

'Alright. Iole.' He then gestured her to follow him. 'Well, everyone's been looking forward to you coming and their just as eager as me to get you settled. Let's go say hi.' He led the young princess through the large villa out towards the veranda at the back of the house. Hercules hoped that Meg would at least make the effort to be civil to Iole, she'd been acting strangely frosty ever since finding out the young girl was going to be staying with them for a year. Despite living in the lap of luxury in Pherae the young girl couldn't help but be impressed by the comfort that Hercules lived in, he certainly made a decent living from his heroic deeds.

Iole barely got to see what the veranda or the outside garden of Hercules' home looked like when a girlish shriek of joy and something small and green shot towards her and enveloped her in a massive bear hug.

'_Ahhh! _I've been looking forward to meeting this girl!' The excitable voice of the green being squealed in delight. She turned out to be a forest nymph with ever-green coloured hair, dark eyes and wearing a deep wine coloured chiton. 'Let me look at you cherry-blossom!' The green-skinned nymph then took Iole by the face and began to examine her. The nymph's dark rose-coloured lips then widened into a girly smile and she let go of Iole squealing in delight again. The princess looked utterly confused by this.

'Ooh, she's so pretty! Isn't she Hyllos?' The green-skinned nymph then turned and winked at the son of Hercules who had been lounging with a homework scroll. He actually flushed at the nymph's teasing expression.

'Oh I, uh..' He started but was spared trying to string a sentence together by his father who cut across him.

'Hey, don't embarrass the kids Syrinx.' Hercules sounded with a slight laugh and a wide smile as both Iole and Hyllos were flushed a slight pink shade. Meg, who had been sitting by her son with a fiction-scroll in her lap, rolled her violet eyes at this.

'Iole this is Syrinx, she used to date my late coach Phil and has been a friend of the family for years.' Hercules sounded introducing the princess to his nymph friend.

'Eighteen years to be exact honeysuckle.' The forest nymph threw the hero a cheeky-yet-girly smile. She was now the only one in the villa who knew Hercules in the awkward stage of his adolescent years.

'Yeh, I know..' Hercules rolled his eyes before his attention turned to his wife who had purposely kept her eyes on the fiction-scroll in her lap. 'And I'm sure you remember my wife Meg..' He smiled kindly to the princess and Iole smiled girlishly at the middle-aged wife of Hercules.

'Of course, hello Mrs Hercules..' The young dark-blonde maiden sounded respectfully and Meg's eyes looked straight at the young girl in front of her.

'Yeh, hi there..' She sounded in a clipped tone before turning back to her reading.

'Honey..' Hercules sounded with a slightly anxious smile, his tone hinting at a reprimand. '-be nice.' Megara's violet eyes instantly turned to her husbad's blue ones and she dropped the scroll onto the stone bench beside her.

'Oh. I'm sorry where are my manners..' Meg's voice sounded in a falsely sweet tone before her face set into a cool look once more. 'I have _laundry_ to do.' She immediately pushed passed her husband and headed down the steps of the veranda and around the corner of the building to where the outside laundry building was located.

'Meg..' Hercules called out but his wife ignored him.

'Let her go Hercules..' Syrinx sounded lightly. 'She'll be fine.'

Hercules sighed heavily and put a hand against his face wearily. He'd hoped Meg might warm up to the idea of having another girl around the house but his wife remained oddly cold. She'd always had trust issues before but she'd usually give people a chance first..

'Uh, hiya Iole..' A nervous young voice brought Hercules out of his stupor to find his son greeting the princess timidly. '-it-uh it's nice to see you again.' He smiled anxiously as his hand rubbed the back of his neck. Iole tittered in a friendly fashion.

'It's nice to see you too Hyllos.' She then flushed a little. 'I still have the bear you gave me.'

'You do?' Hyllos blinked his violet eyes in amazement.

'Sure. I brought him with me..' She sounded lightly.

'Tell you what Hyl..' Hercules sounded, instantly reminding the kids that he and Syrinx were still there.'-why don't you show Iole around while Syrinx and I finish getting her room ready.'

'Your in the one next to me sweet pea.' The forest nymph sounded playfully.

'Heh, ok Syrinx you can show her to her room later but for now let's just leave the kids to it..'

'Oh, alright Mister Bossy Sandals..' Syrinx sounded with a mock-pout before her bright cheery self instantly returned. 'Catch you saplings later..' She waved them off.

'Have fun..' Hercules said warmly before he and Syrinx headed inside the villa, leaving the two teens to it.

'Don't they just make the cutest couple..' Syrinx trilled happily, clutching her green fingers together.

'Yeh..' Hercules replied lightly before a slightly saddened look crossed his face. 'I just wish Meg could see it too.'

'Aw, she'll come around honeysuckle..' Syrinx replied lightly. 'You'll see..'

'I hope so Syrinx, I really do..'

* * *

A few days later things had not really changed much in the villa of Hercules as Iole tried to get used to her new surroundings.. The young princess bonded instantly with Syrinx who taught the thirteen year old girl all the basics behind putting on her own make up, coordinating her clothes with accessories and styling her own hair. Iole had always had these things done for her by servants but her pale blue eyes lit up with delight at the chance to finally choose how she wanted to look. As well as this Syrinx also taught Iole about gardening, which had always been a passion of hers being a nymph.

'You used to know the goddess Persephone?' Iole blinked in amazement as Syrinx was now showing her how to care for flower bushes.

'Oh sure. We used to always run into each other at the Harvest Moon festival in Satyrville, but that was before she married the ol' Pyro-God an' moved herself on down to the big basement. Y'know my Philly-Goat never understood why a gal like that would wanna be with a blow-heart like him but she musta seen somethin' in that guy the rest of us missed.' Syrinx sounded brightly. Iole had learnt early on that this forest nymph was quite talkative but her bubbly, friendly nature made her impossible to find irritating.

'What do you mean?' The young princess asked as she fiddled with the rose-bush in front of her. Iole's pale blue eyes widened in interest.

'Well sugar-bean, I've seen them both together since gettin' hitched and between you an' me she has definitely tamed those flames.'

'Really?' Iole gasped in incredulity, she'd heard about the Lord of the Underworld with his firm judgement and unswayable attitude, this seemed so far-fetched to her.

'Just shows what the love of a good woman can do. Even to a god like Hades..' Syrinx beamed happily as she caught Iole glancing off in the direction of Hyllos distractedly as the red-headed boy was messing around with the winged-horse Pegasus in one of the lower gardens.

'Ouch!' The young princess squealed out as she accidentally pricked her finger on one of the thorns of the rose-bush.

'Here, let me take a look.' Syrinx said lightly taking Iole's dainty wrist and looking at the cut. 'Oh, it's just a scratch.' She then smirked. 'That'll teach you to keep your mind on what your doin' instead of up on cloud nine.' The nymph teased her lightly causing the princess to blush fiercely. At this point the two of them went back to pruning there rose-bushes.

Later Iole was with Hyllos and Pegasus, standing at the foot of the large tree the winged-horse had built a nest in. The princess had initially been confused about the fact that Pegasus would want to nest in a tree rather than live in a stable but Hyllos informed her that the winged-horse had always been a little more 'bird-brained' than the average horse. Today the two of them were grooming Pegasus as part of the preparations for the Buphonia Festival at the end of the week. Hyllos tossed Iole one hand brush as he took the other and the pair began brushing down Pegasus. The winged-horse made a strange purring noise like a cooing pigeon as they ran their brushes over him.

'So. H-how are you liking it here?' The nearly fourteen-year old son of Hercules asked in a kind but nervous voice.

'It's different, but in a good way.' Iole smiled sweetly at him. 'Everyone's so nice but..' She trailed off at this point, pausing because she wasn't sure if she should say the last part.

'But what?' Hyllos asked her concerned.

'Between you and me, I don't think your mom likes me very much.' Iole confessed with a shy voice, pausing in her brushing of Pegasus.

'What?' Hyllos yelped out in surprise as Pegasus whinnied out in shock, both of them looking at her confused.

'Well, she always avoids me. It's like she thinks I'm invading her home or something.'

'Hah, don't be silly, my mom's not like that..' The red-headed boy sounded, laughing affectionately at this. 'She's just a little guarded with new people. Have you tried talking to her?'

'Um, no.' The princess replied.

'Well there you go.' Hyllos added brightly. 'Try talking to her. Mom's probably just waiting for you to go to her. She's not very good at making the first move in conversation, she prefers it when you start one with her..'

'You really think that would work?' Iole said, kinking a curious brow.

'Can't hurt to try right?' Hyllos sounded lightly.

'Thanks Hyllos, I'll try talking to her later..' The princess smiled at him before returning to brushing Pegasus' hide.

* * *

Once the young princess was done helping out Hyllos with his chores she wandered back inside the villa to see if she could locate Megara. When she didn't find the wife of Hercules in the kitchen or the pantry she began to wander through the villa looking for her. She'd be somewhere in the large home doing housework. Meg's refusal to hire help to assist in the housework impressed Iole, Meg was almost like Hestia herself. The place was spotless and she'd love to learn homemaking skills from her, the wife of Hercules must have had one Tartarus of a teacher.

As Iole arrived in the living room, finding it minus Meg, the front door to the villa opened and Hercules appeared through the door. The middle-aged hero was waving out to some unseen person on the outside of the house.

'Good luck with your expedition in Persia Alex, you'll have to write and let me know how you get on..' Hercules called out the door and Iole quickly realised that the hero was saying his goodbyes to his protégé Alexander the Great who had recently announced he'd be leaving for Persia on the orders of the King of Macedonia on some kind of mission… though Alexander had been sketchy on the exact details.

'If I remember to..' Came Alexander's faint but jovial response. '-see ya when I get back coach!'

'Alright but don't forget about hero rule number twenty four!' The hero yelled out.

''Don't start something you can't finish!' I know, I know… bye Hercules.' Alexander called back and the sound of a chariot moved from outside. Hercules sighed heavily as he shut the door.

'Well remember it this time..' He muttered to himself not realising the young Pherae princess was nearby…

* * *

…_At the same moment hidden behind one of the large purple window drapes__…_

Paranoia had been assessing the situation that Jealousy and Envy had created. Ever since the Resentment Twins had been told off by their older siblings they had been nothing but supportive to the little blue imp and once Paranoia had done a little training with his older brother Panic he was ready to inspect the damage.

'I'm sorry guys..' The little royal blue imp sounded in a soft voice. '-but there's nothing here I can really use as a starting point.'

'Whatta ya mean there's nothin' ya can use?' Jealousy hissed in a hushed venomous tone so not to be heard by the mortals on the other side of the drape.

'Yeh, we've been busting our tails out here!' Envy sounded.

'A-and it shows fellas..' Paranoia held up his dainty claws in defeat, not wanting to provoke his older brothers. '-what I meant was your just not _quite_ there yet, I need one _final_ nudge to push his wife over the edge.'

'Like what?' Jealousy shot at his brother with a scowl which was mirrored by Envy. Ever since the two of them had been told to back off Paranoia had become a little braver with them.

'I dunno, something that makes all the resentment inside of her boil over.' Paranoia sounded with a wide smirk.

'You want us to push her to the edge of her sanity?' Envy suddenly kinked a brow with intrigue before a wide smirk twisted on his features.

'Yes, exactly!' Paranoia replied eagerly.

'You got somethin' bro?' Jealousy asked his brother curiously. Envy then smirked widely flashing his two brothers a devious look.

'Oh yeh. Jealousy, here's what I need ya to do..' Envy then began hissing something in his horned ear. His twin threw his brother a nasty smirk once he'd finished whispering his idea.

'Bro, you are an evil genius.' Jealousy sounded impressed.

'I know..' Envy smirked widely. 'Now get going, we don't have much time.'

'Aye, aye bro..' Jealousy replied smirking then vanishing in a shimmer of bright green.

* * *

…_At the same time the imps were plotting__…_

'I'm sure he'll be fine Hercules.' Iole sounded kindly causing the hero's baby blue eyes to widen in surprise.

'Oh. Iole. I didn't realise you were there..' The red-headed man with a few lingering slivers hairs instantly turned to her looking slightly self-conscious, reminding Iole of Hyllos. 'Heh, your right. He'll be fine, I'm just worrying too much. Starting to know how Phil felt when I used to battle monsters.' He sighed at this point looking momentarily glum before it melted back into a boyish smirk. 'So what are you doing here anyway, I thought you were helping Hyllos out with his chores?'

'I was.' The princess replied with a smile. 'But they're finished now and I was looking for your wife, you wouldn't have any idea where I could find her?' Hercules thought about this for a moment then smiled.

'Couldn't say for sure but she'll be around here somewhere, she likes to keep herself busy.' The hero sounded in a friendly tone. 'Can I help you with anything in the meantime?'

'Oh, no. I just wanted to talk to her.' Iole replied politely.

'Ahh. I'm sure she'll turn up eventually.' Hercules said lightly before adding conversationally. 'So are you looking forward to the Buphonia Festival?'

'Um, I don't think I'm going.' Iole sounded in a slightly glum voice. 'Syrinx isn't going and neither is your wife so I don't know if I'm allowed to go.' The princess flushed slightly.

'Not allowed?' Hercules sounded confused before he began laughing in amusement. 'Don't be silly, you can go if you want.' The hero added seriously.

'I can?' Iole perked up instantly. She'd never been to an ox-slaying festival dedicated to Zeus before and was quite curious to see what it was like, however back in Pherae she wasn't allowed to go if her mother was not attending… it was considered wrong for girls to go out when the lady of the house didn't approve.

'Sure. Just because Syrinx and Meg are both against ox slaying and stay behind in protest doesn't mean you have to stay behind too. I take Hyllos every year to pay our respects to Zeus and your more than welcome to come with us.' The middle-aged hero continued carelessly. The young princess could hardly contain her excitement at his words and immediately she ran up to him, wrapped her arms around his middle and hugged him tight.

'Ooh, thank you, thank you, you're the best Hercules!' She squealed out excitably, still clutching him tight.

'Um, your welcome Iole.' Hercules sounded lightly as he hugged her back with a gentle smile, surprised but pleased that she was so happy about going to this festival.

At the top of the stairs, unbeknown to either Iole of Hercules, Meg was standing staring down at the two of them hugging. Her rosy pink lips open in surprise and her violet eyes wide with a mixture of shock and horror. It was like all her worst fears had come to life…

…behind her Jealousy smirked widely to his brothers, who were poking their heads out the curtain, then flashed them an 'oh-kay' hand gesture.

Paranoia threw a twisted leer at the horrifies wife of Hercules.

'Now _this_, I can work with..' He drawled appreciatively, like someone admiring a work of art.

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Ok peeps, have yourselves a Merry Christmas… this is the last chap I'll be writing before then, may write another in between Xmas and New Year but not sure yet… _

_Anyway, this chapter is just the set up for my next chapter entitled: The Madness of Megara which hopefully will be up soon…_

_Stay tuned… and in case I don't update before new year good luck in 2013!_

_~Ditzy X_


	53. The Madness of Megara

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it__…__ I don__'__t own Disney__'__s Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me__…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it__'__s forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first__…__ Also, because constantly being asked the same questions is starting to grate me: please __don't rely on Greek Myths__, this is Disney and they twisted a lot of myths around, I have done the same and explanations can be found in my Little Notes sections in relative chaps… having said that though, some knowledge will kind of give you a small glimpse into where this fic is heading.._

_Little hint: if you haven__'__t read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder__…__ Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work__…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**Review Replies:**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: No, actually it comes from 'the Madness of Hercules' which was not only a film but also the title of the section of Homer's work where Hera drove Hercules insane before he butchered his family. Of course since it Paranoia driving Meg insane I thought it was quite fitting. X**_

_**Janet-Mustafa: (Chap35) Glad to see your catching up with us quickly, I hope your still enjoying the story as much as when you started… I'd love to hear your opinion on some of the characters. And thank you… It's nice to know my OCD season-writing is approved of. My story had to be precisely planned for it to work out properly and that meant actually calculating character's ages, planning out the times of years and cross-referencing them with myth and moving things around (was just as expurgating as it sounds).. And I agree, especially in the case of Hades and Persephone the seasons are vital for telling the story. It's amazing how often a small detail like that could be so important and often it makes or breaks the story X **_

_**Vikishus: Welcome back hun, always nice to here from old fans! And yes Paranoia has as many layers as Sherk and his 'onion' theory XD**_

_**Nyx27Seth: Lol it is one of those 'He said what?' moments and Paranoia is a very complex little imp, he has many sides to his personality… mirroring how paranoia effects people differently x**_

_**Coldblue: Its very close… X**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

* * *

_Happy New Year Everybody! Hope yours started better than mine:_

_This chapter's to my Granddad… 19__th__ June 1923 - 5__th__ January 2013... He will be missed :'( xx_

* * *

**Chapter Fifty-Three:****The Madness of Megara**

Meg clutched her chest as her breath quickened in panic. She hadn't heard the conversation between them but she couldn't deny the twisting in her heart or how intimate that hug looked. The wife of Hercules instantly ducked behind the wall next to the stairway so she was out of sight and placed a hand on her chest with a pained grimace. _Hercules couldn__'__t do this to me__…__ not after everything we__'__ve had gone through together. He wouldn__'__t__…__ would he? _It was this nugget of doubt in her heart that made the middle-aged brunette stuck her head out around the corner just as Princess Iole and Hercules broke apart, still holding hands. Something that made Meg's insides queasy.

'You've no idea what this means to me..' The young girl sounded softly. She then pushed herself up on to her tip-toes and kissed Hercules' cheek. The kiss itself was innocent enough, just a slight peck with little more than grateful affection behind it before the young girl ran off. It was Hercules' reaction which made Meg wonder if it was something more, his hand raised and touched the spot while his expression seemed dazed and confused by it. The sight of it made Meg pull herself back around and lean against the wall gasping for breath before she felt something wet running down her face. Lifting her fingers shakily she touched the trail of wetness only to realise it was a tear. Pulling her fingers back she blinked at it as it glistened on her fingertips. The last time she had felt like this was when Hades had used her as a pawn to take Hercules' strength then break his heart. She'd felt used, abused and most importantly… heartbroken. It was only an hour or so before she'd admitted to falling for the hero herself then Hades, that twisted and vile excuse for a god that he was, had seen it in her face and used it to his own means. Then the words her husband had said to her on their first date came back to her and the promise he'd made..

* * *

_Meg, I will never, ever, hurt you._

'But you did hurt me Wonder Boy..' She sighed to herself and trudged slowly away to her bedroom..

'A little anti-climactic, no?' Jealousy sounded with a kink in his brow as he reappeared beside Envy and Paranoia.

'Yeh, I was waitin' for her to start screamin'..' Envy added with a slight frown as Hercules shrugged off Iole's over-expression of joy and headed towards the kitchen.

'No, no.. this is perfect.' Paranoia said with a smirk.

'But I thought you wanted her to get mad..' Jealousy retorted with a frown. When the Resentment Twins usually caused havoc they were used to screaming, cursing and crockery flying. To them this was far too tame..

'She is mad, trust me. This is exactly what Thanatos wants..' Paranoia replied with a smirk.

'Are you sure?' Envy replied confused.

'Of course, I want to tap into the fear that you guys have created by poisoning her mind with suspicion..' Paranoia grinned widely. 'Panic promised to help me out with a plan if I got stuck, according to him I have to have everything in place for Thanatos within the next four days..' The little royal blue imp's bug eyes narrowed horribly.

'_Four days!-?_' Jealousy replied in shock.

'B-but that's when the Buphonia Festival is..' Envy added in surprise.

'Exactly..' Paranoia smirked again, flashing his brothers a look of impish glee. '-that's when our junior boss plans to strike..' Both Resentment Twin's eyes widened in shock at this but before they could say anything Paranoia saluted them with a wink. 'Now if ya don't mind informin' our teenage leader that everything is right on schedule I'd bee so grateful..'

'Did he just dismiss us?' Envy blinked confused. The next second Paranoia vanished into a shimmer of deep blue.

'Uh, yup… that's what it looks like bro.' Jealousy sounded casually with narrowed eyes.

'He can't dismiss us, who does he think he is!' Envy scowled irritably.

'He's a little imp with a big job to do..' Jealousy replied with a smirk before it slipped slightly. '-let's hope he can pull it off.'

'For all our sakes..' Envy added as he suddenly fell on his brother's train of thought, neither of them would like to see what Thanatos would do if this scheme failed. '-may the Fates have mercy on him..' Both Resentment Twins gripped each others hand then vanished out in matching minty shimmers..

* * *

Meg sat down at her vanity desk and wiped her face as more tears ran down her cheeks. She then suddenly caught her reflection in the mirror sitting in front of her and scowled at it.

'_Urgh_, what is wrong with me..' She sounded in annoyance at herself for being this upset. '-I promised myself I'd never feel this way again.' Her violet eyes were watery and her down expression twisted into a harsh frown as she glared at herself. Her eyes then turned to the assortments of knick-knacks she owned that were spread across the vanity desk itself. Amongst the face creams and other daily beauty products she used was a dried-out white flower, exactly the same as the one Hercules had given her on their first date… of course, Hades had burnt the original flower to a crisp. This dried-out bloom sat in a tiny pot by the mirror. Meg picked the delicate flower up and smiled at it tenderly before her eyes looked back at her reflection.

_I_ _am Hercules__'__ wife- _Her violet eyes hardened as her resolve stiffened. _-and I__'__m not about to let some royal little Madame steal him away from me! _Meg stood up from the vanity desk and placed the dried-out bloom back in it's little pot and walked out of the room, completely unaware that a little royal blue imp was watching her every move with a merciless grin…

* * *

…_The following afternoon__…_

Her rich brown hair flickered in the sunlight steaming through the high window of the laundry building as Meg rewrapped her long hair in her high-bun. Stomping on the wet washing was always such strenuous work and often her hair became loose in the process. She snapped her red-band around her unruly locks with a satisfying twang and pushed her long side-fringe out of her sweaty face as the wife of Hercules dabbed herself down with a cool facecloth, smiling and turning her face towards the stream of sunlight poking through the window.

Meg had always found doing laundry therapeutic. Generally Grecian housewives were irritated by it, mostly because their families were so big that it was a never ending chore to them. The middle-aged brunette supposed if she had a larger household she might have felt the same way but since it was just her and her two boys she couldn't really complain about the mud and grass stains that covered their training chitons. Even with the irksome addition of Iole's girly chitons, which barely had a mark on them, she could still easily handle the workload. Ever since the princess' arrival Meg had been spending more time than usual inside the small outbuilding. It was a place she viewed as _her_ space and she often came here when she needed 'quiet-time' away from the villa or any of its inhabitants. And ever since Iole had arrived she'd been needing more 'quiet-time' than usual… mostly because she didn't want to be left alone with her husband's new 'girl'..

With the washing done Meg bundled the wet linen and clothes into a huge wicker basket and pulled it over to the door. Once she was out of the laundry building she carried the bundle of wet clothes out to the top green where a large washing-line was situated. Immediately she began hanging up the bed-sheets and pegging the chitons to the line, it was such a lovely sunny day with a slight breeze in the air so the washing would be dry in no time.

'Meg..' The familiar voice of her husband broke the middle-aged brunette's peace and by the sound of his tone he didn't sound to happy. '-we need to talk.'

'Not now Herc, I'm busy..' Meg replied to her husband throwing him an 'if-that-wasn't-obvious' look before turning back to hanging the laundry.

'I'm serious Meg.' Hercules scowled at his wife.

'Me too Wonder Boy.' Meg swivelled around sharply, gripping a chiton in her hand. 'Once the washing is strung, your talk time has begun.' She then huffed and turned back, hanging the chiton out while stabbing it sharply with the pegs.

'You don't need your ears to hang out washing.' Hercules sounded brusquely.

'_Fine_. Then talk as I'm hanging the washing then..' Meg responded in a sulky tone, only relenting because she figured he would not let this go if she dragged it out.

'Meg. Iole has been here for a few days now-' Hercules started before he was cut off.

'Six..' The middle-aged brunette sounded with a slight smirk. '-but who's counting?' Her eyebrow kinked at her husband before she pegged up some more linen then moved the basket to an empty space.

'Ok, fine. _Six_ days but you haven't spent any time with her since she got here..' Hercules sounded slightly irritated.

'So what?' Meg responded as she finished hanging up the last of the washing and picked up the wicker basket and leaned on one hip.

'_So what!_ Geez, Meg your supposed to be helping her adjust to our kind of lifestyle..' Hercules gripped his greying red hair as if he wanted to pull it out in frustration. His wife's violet eyes narrowed at these words.

'She looks like she's adjusting fine without me.' Meg sounded in a deadpan voice, privately thinking that in six days the little minx had already sunk her claws into her own husband.

'How are you supposed to help Iole hone home-making skills if you don't interact with her?' Hercules looked at her in confusion and annoyance, both of which Meg ignored as she turned away and moved towards the laundry building.

'She doesn't need them..' The brunette scoffed dismissively. '-she's a princess, she has servants to do that stuff for her.' Meg made her husband a silent 'duh' face before pulling open the door and placing the wicker basket inside.

'So did you once..' Hercules raised his brows and this caused Meg to wince. '-before you left home.'

Don't turn this onto me Hercules.' Meg scowled now.

'You're the one throwing the poor girl the cold shoulder Meg!' Hercules declared angrily, losing his temper slightly.

'_Urh__…_and you're the one offering her _your_ shoulder!' His wife shot back with a steely glint in her violet eyes.

'_What?-!_' Hercules sounded completely bemused.

'Oh don't deny it Herc, I've seen you two looking _real_ chummy!' Meg scowled deeply before swivelling sharply on her hip. 'Now if you don't mind, this place doesn't clean _itself_..' She spat venomously then stalked of without another word.

'Meg, _Meg_… _Wait!_'He called out but his wife was already at the backdoor heading inside the villa, the door slamming shut behind her. 'Chummy?' He asked himself bemused by what she was trying to imply..

* * *

Meg pulled her own bedcovers taut as she fixed the bedding then smoothed out the top cover before straightening and smiling, proud of her handiwork. To her there was nothing like a newly made bed, the smell of the crisp clean bed sheets and the moment they were wrapped around her were one of her favourite things in the world.

'Um, excuse me.' A soft female voice sounded, along with a soft rapping on the bedroom door. Meg instantly looked up to find Iole looking nervously at the elder woman. Her pale blue eyes instantly darted downwards as she shuffled anxiously.

'Oh. Whadda you want?' Meg spoke in a cool voice as her hands went to her hips.

'I was, um, hoping you'd teach me to sew..' Iole replied, her fingers twitching against the pool of fabric in her arms. She looked so innocent and hopeful at the same time. '-you see, my dress ripped at the seam and I wanted to wear it at the festival.'

'Just throw it on the pile.' Meg sounded dismissively, gesturing vaguely towards the small pile of torn chitons she had rumpled on the bed.

'But..' Iole blinked confused at her. '-I was hoping that-'

'Yeh, well, I'm a bit busy right now.' Meg scooped up her pile from her bed, balancing it in one arm the snatching the dress chiton off of Iole. Without another time the wife of Hercules stalked off towards the only room in the whole villa that was truly hers..

Iole sighed heavily as she watched Meg leave her on her own again.

'I guess we could get to know each other later then..' The young princess sounded dejectedly, she'd really been hoping to bond with Hyllos' mother but it seemed the woman did not like her one bit…

* * *

Meg groaned heavily as she shut her door to her sewing room, closing herself off from the rest of the villa and threw down the chitons onto the chez-lounge by the window. A clinking noise sounded as the something glass hit off the floor. The noise caused the middle-aged brunette to turn curiously back to the pile of chitons and kneel down next to the overly of material that that pooled on the floor. For a few moments she felt around in the material before a small hard object came to her touch. It was nestled inside one of her own lilac chitons. Her brows knitted in confusion, trying to remember when she'd ever had anything in her pocket that felt like a small glass tube. After failing to think of anything she stuck her hand inside the cloth slip and pulled out a small glass vial filled with what looked like blood.

Upon setting eyes on this vial she recognised it instantly as the centaur blood that Nessus had given her before he'd died a little over three weeks ago. Lifting it to eyelevel she scrutinised the contents of the vial. It didn't look any different to ordinary mortal blood… except maybe it was a little more water-like in consistency. Still, she was curious as to why the perverted centaur had been so desperate to give her it… what made this stuff so special?

The middle-aged wife of Hercules could remember Nessus' words as clear as the day he uttered them with his dying breath..

'_If there ever comes a time when you fear his eyes will wander, spread a little on his shirt and to you he will always stay true.__'_

Meg grimaced at the vial in her fingers. This disgusting gloop was supposed to help her keep her husband? Her violet eyes narrowed in suspicion..

* * *

From behind the clay chiton mannequin nearby Paranoia felt a sudden tightness in his chest. His breath began to quicken in fright as the wife of Hercules eyed the centaur blood with distrust.

'Puh-puh-puh..' The little royal blue imp choked on his own voice as his yellow eyes widened. 'P_ah-nic_..' He hissed out as quietly as he could with a hint of whine in his tone. The next second there was a burst of bluish-green shimmer and Panic appeared before his little brother.

'Whoa..' Panic sounded as his huge round eyes caught sight of how freaked out Paranoia looked. 'What's wrong little guy?' He asked in a concerned tone.

'I think she suspects some_thing_..' He whimpered fearfully as his pupils widened and his horns drooped slightly. At these words Panic turned his head and looked over to Meg who was still looking unsurely at the bottle while tipping it back and forth. The older paler imp immediately twisted his head and turned on the spot, looking around the room for some kind of inspiration. His eyes then rested on the big loom taking up most of the space on the far wall. For a moment he hummed thoughtfully before brightening as an idea hit him.

'Nah, you can still manipulate this.' Panic turned and smiled at Paranoia, the younger imp's face brightened at these words.

'I can?' He asked hopefully.

'_Sure_. Here's what you do..' Panic then leaned in and lifted a hand, immediately hissing his idea into his brother's horned ear. Paranoia frowned at fist before his expression melted into a grin.

'Ooh, I can do that!' Paranoia sounded excitedly.

'Then let's see you do it.' Panic replied with a thumbs up. Paranoia immediately vanished out in a deep blue shimmer..

* * *

Meg sighed heavily and shrugged at the mystery of the contents of this vial. Who was she to question this. Especially since she lived in a place where gods gave birth from their heads and the right look could turn you to stone. She supposed the centaur blood worked kind of like Cupid's arrow and kept her husband's gaze firmly fixed on her… perhaps it was one of the ingredients they used when making them. The wife of Hercules frowned as she thought of how her husband had brought home this girl without consulting her. It made the brunette angry when she thought of their fight the other day about how she wasn't 'helping' Iole, of course she wasn't going to teach that girl how to be a housewife. She wasn't going to teach her the tricks of the trade just to find herself replaced by a younger, more cheerful, model..

Almost subconsciously Meg's hand gripped the vial more tightly as her scowl tightened and her teeth flashed menacingly. Unbeknown to her Paranoia was now standing directly behind her with his palms held out and glowing blue while her eyes glowed blue indicating he was influencing how she was seeing things. The tiny blue imp closed his big yellow eyes and screwed them tight, concentrating his mind fully on what it was he wanted her to do.

Meg's now-blue eyes left the vial as she looked around the room for one of Hercules' shirts to smear the centaur blood on… She wasn't going to lose her husband now, not after they'd been to Tartarus and back together. It was then that the wife of Hercules spotted her loom in the corner of the room. She smiled widely at it…

…She could _make_ her husband a new shirt! A shirt especially crafted for the upcoming Buphonia Festival. She hated the whole idea of killing an ox in the 'glory of Zeus'… animal sacrifices where old-fashioned now they needed to start thinking of other ways to praise a god. Still, she could make this shirt for her husband and use it as an apology, even though she disliked the celebration he'd be touched by the effort she'd gone to make him look good..

Meg hugged herself with a faint smile, seeing her Hercules happy always brought a warm fuzzy feeling to her stomach nd she was grateful nobody was around to watch her swoon. Once she was done with fawning over her husband the middle-aged brunette immediately got up and moved swiftly over to the loom taking a seat in front of it…

Paranoia opened his eyes and the glowing in his palms stopped. He lowered his hands and watched as Meg keenly began sifting through a small basket of yarn, looking for the right colour and texture to weave her material with.

'Nice work Paranoia.' Panic whispered, he'd moved up behind his brother while the imp had been concentrating. There was a twinkle of pride in the older imps eyes.

'Thanks..' Paranoia flushed slightly with a sheepish grin. 'I-I couldn't have done it without you..'

…Meg felt the wool with her fingers then frowned, tossing it back in with a sneer.

'_Urgh_, too rough..' Her bottom lip then jutted out as she tapped the side of her loom irritably. '-where did I put those cashmere-cotton balls.' She muttered to herself while thinking. The wife of Hercules wanted him to be the best dressed man there. She then was hit with an epiphany and got up, lifted the base of her seat. 'There you are..' She smiled widely seeing the white balls of ultimately soft yarn she'd been looking for. Meg picked up several balls and dumped them on the floor beside the loom and began to string up the vertical side first… she only had three days to complete this new shirt so she had better get a mosey on..

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hi peeps… As you've probably noticed my grandfather passed away. I do feel a little down but I'm in no way asking for sympathy or using it the reel reviews… far from it. However, I will say that I will be taking a short break from writing as the funeral is on the 14__th__.. To be honest the truth has not fully hit me yet but my mood has wavered between happy and depressed. I fear that when I go to see my gran in a few days the truth will hit me hard then… I also find it both ironic and spooky that Death would hit my family at such an important crux of my storyline (considering this whole story is about Death)… however my granddad didn't suffer, instead it was a gentle drop into sleep, so I am taking that as a sign that even Death itself actually approves of my story._

_I promise I will come back to this so stay tuned…_

_~Ditzy x_


	54. Why you Just can't Fight your Fate,,

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it__…__ I don__'__t own Disney__'__s Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me__…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it__'__s forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first__…__ Also, because constantly being asked the same questions is starting to grate me: please __don't rely on Greek Myths__, this is Disney and they twisted a lot of myths around, I have done the same and explanations can be found in my Little Notes sections in relative chaps… having said that though, some knowledge will kind of give you a small glimpse into where this fic is heading.._

_Little hint: if you haven__'__t read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder__…__ Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work__…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**Review Replies:**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: They are cute together! Unfortunately no imps in this chap but plenty of daddy/son and a little mommy/daughter action too that you can 'squee' over instead! X**_

_**DiscordantPrincess (Chap52): Welcome back hun! Hope you had a good New Year! Glad you can see why poor Meg is upset 9even if her emotions are being swayed by pointy-eared little sprites). And Syrinx technically isn't mine, she appeared in the episode 'Hercules and the Muse of Dance' but I loved her so much that I wanted to include her in Hercules' little family, plus since she was dating Phil I thought it would be rude not to have her. I'm sure she felt bad at the time (hence her now living with Hercules) but being a part of a family probably helped her deal with the loss. Plus she's a nymph, their generally happy creatures! …(Chap53) Meg was a princess in myth, Disney cruelly robbed her of her title but I have explained her back story which, some-what repairs the damage… Meg's father is a Lord in Thebes and it's financial backer, so he's as good as king (like in myth) and Meg ran away from home shortly before turning sixteen to get out of an arranged marriage. When Hercules said Meg once had servants that did everything for her this was the time of her life he was referring to, which was why it upset Meg. And I'm keeping schtum on this shirt… you'll have to wait and see! X**_

_**Vikishus: I'm sorry to hear about yours too.. I hope everything is ok now. And fear not… plenty of Than and Hades action in this chap! Also a cute little scene with Mac and Seph! XD**_

_**Nyx27Seth: Thanks sugar! I actually love jealous Meg, I picture her as really vindictive and cruel.. And he is, isn't he? I don't care how nasty Paranoia gets he will always be cute! X3**_

_**Coldblue: Ok, settle down and breathe… I can't answer those questions for you hun, it's too close so your just gonna have to use the ol' noggin' up there to figure it out. But here's another chapter with your last set of clues! X**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

* * *

_Dedicated to: Everybody who sent me sympathy messages…. I'm touched, I really wasn't looking for any I just wanted to explain why I was taking a short break from writing to deal with everything. Thank you all for your concern.._

* * *

**Chapter Fifty-Four:****Why you Just can't Fight your Fate..**

'_Thahahhn.!.!_' The sound of Hades' cheery voice calling his name made the God of Death-in-training's golden-flamed quiff quivered with distaste. The teenage white-skinned god rolled his eyes in aggravation as he wondered what his father wanted with him now. For the last three days his father had insisted on the pair of them spending time 'bonding'.. For this time of year this was actually nothing new, with Spring well and truly underway and their mother up on the surface Hades was often bored and lonely, turning to his children for company to pass the long hours until his wife returned home from work. This year she had taken little Macaria with her in order to help her youngest daughter hone her 'flower growing' abilities. This left both the older two siblings in the care of their father, this again was nothing new for this time of year. What irritated Thanatos however was the fact that this year his father's full focus seemed to be on spending time with him and _only_ him… Melinoe seemed to be completely forgotten. The fiery teen knew his sister was desperately vying for her devine rights and the only one who could give her them was the Lord of the Underworld, aka their father. And how was Hades supposed to know what kind of purpose to give his gloomy daughter if he _didn__'__t_ spend any time with her?.!

The God of Death-in-training suspected that his father actually had some ulterior motive for wanting to spend so much time with him… like he still suspected his son was scheming something behind his back. Thanatos had always known that pulling off this plan to take out Hercules, who was Admetus' _real _substitute, without his father realising the truth was going to be difficult. Hades was one of the smartest gods in the cosmos and barely missed a trick but Thanatos had to keep him occupied while the imps were getting the final stages of their plan together.

He was nervous as today was the day of the Buphonia Festival, at this moment the Fates were entwining his life-line with Hercules', creating an opening for him in order to cut the hero's thread of life.. In all honesty Thanatos was unsure how he felt about cutting the life-line of this hero, Hercules himself had done nothing to him personally he'd just intervened in a situation that was out of his control. The teen god had initially wanted to get one over on Zeus for the whole Sisyphus 'incident' which had left him a changed god, however he had his own suspicions that the Fates had been planning this moment for a long time as they seemed overly keen about this whole thing.

'Hey, there ya are..' The sound of his father's voice drew Thanatos out of his thoughts and the golden-flamed god blinked before realising that Hades was stood beside him. The fiery teen looked up from his Death List which had 'Hercules' written at the top of a very few names on his _To Die _column. Although Thanatos tried to look curiously at his father the God of Death-in-training must have let some of his anxiousness seep through as Hades' brow twisted in concern.

'Somethin' botherin' ya short-flames?' The blue-flamed god asked in a gentle timbre as his golden eyes flashed with interest, wondering what could possibly be eating his son.

'Err… sort of..' Thanatos admitted after a short pause then gave a heavy sigh and pocketed his list into his robe pocket.

'Ya wanna talk about it brat?' Hades sounded with a slight smirk of encouragement.

'Oh geez..' Thanatos' golden eyes widened at this suggestion in slight panic… he couldn't let his father in on this even if he wanted to.

'_Ahh__…_ C'mon Than, I might be your dad but it doesn't mean ya can't trust me with stuff like this.. I just wanna help.' Hades sounded with a slight flare of offence. He clearly had misread Thanatos' reaction. The godling continued to stare awkwardly at his father and for a moment the silence spiralled uncomfortably. After a few moments of waiting for his son to speak Hades realised that he would have to think of a way to help loosen Thanatos' tongue… whatever this was it was affecting his son deeply.

'Ok, ya don't wanna talk. Fine. Tell ya what..' Hades' smirked widened as he pulled two golf clubs out of nowhere and waved them expressively as he continued. '-why don't we go to the roof and hit a few rounds into the Styx, might take your mind of things, huh?' Immediately a basket of golf balls appeared in his other hand as the god threw his son a hopeful look which clearly said 'I'm reaching out to you here'.

Thanatos gave another heaving sigh then threw his father a smile of slight surrender.

'Ok, fine. I guess a couple of rounds couldn't hurt..' The godling relented then got to his feet, giving in to Hades and the elder god flashed his son a wide smirk with narrowed eyes.. Perhaps if he got Thanatos talking he might be able to wheedle the truth out of his shifty son at long last..

* * *

Charon had been rowing upstream idly towards the docks at the northern curve of the Styx. Sometimes when he had nothing to do and had finished reading an up-to-date newscroll he would row his boat casually up and down the Styx humming a tune as he went at a languid pace. Today he was singing an old shanty while rowing upstream..

'_I take tailors __'__n__'__ soldiers __'__n__'__ all who come wanderin__'…__I even ferry heroes a__'__board me black gondola__…__ when me black gondola pulls outta dock, with those poor souls in tow__…__ It__'__s downstream of the Styx, we__'__re off while I row__…__ and if one falls out __'__oh well, whatta shame__'…__ it shan__'__t be up to me to take all the blame__…__ so stay in yer seat and keep your trap shut__…__ or it__'__s __'__yo-ho, let__'__s row the soul down-_' It was at this point that the skeletal boatman's singing was cut short as a small object, that had been hurtling in his direction, smacked him straight in the right eye socket causing him to fall backwards at the impact.

As Charon pulled himself upright in a dazed shock he became instantly aware of two things, the sound of raucous laughter and that something was obscuring the sight out of his eye socket. Confused he chose to deal with his most pressing concern first which was his hindered eyesight. Lifting a bony hand to his right eye he instantly realised the problem. Something small and round had become jammed in his hollow socket. When he pulled the object out with a small 'pop' his eyesight was instantly fixed and he peered down at the small ball… it was a golf ball.

_A golf ball!_

For a breif moment the skeletal boatman had no idea how a golf ball had wedged itself in his eye socket before his skull was drawn upwards to the laughter that was still coming from somewhere high above him. Instantly he had his answer as his black hollow eyes narrowed at the sight of his boss Hades and his juvenile son Thanatos on the domed roof of the House of Hades. Both pyrogods where clutching their golf clubs and laughing hysterically in Charon's direction. By this point they were both on their knees and laughing so hard that tears were threatening their eyes.

'Heh, hey, hey, Than..' Hades sounded breathlessly, trying to control his sniggers as something brilliant hit his mind. Thanatos grinned in anticipation at his father trying hard to stifle his own laughter. 'Now that's what'cha call a _hole in one!_' He declared brightly and immediately burst out into laughter again. Thanatos once more exploded into snickers and let go of his golf club so he could hold his sides as he laughed then point towards the boatman.

'Damn pyrogods..' Charon grumbled with annoyance, tossing the golf ball into the Styx. '-think they're so funny..' He then continued upstream throwing both gods his blackest look.

Hades and Thanatos' laughter did not die down until the skeletal boatman had rowed out of the first stone archway and around the corner towards the northern docks. Once he was gone both gods sighed heavily and slumped backwards so they were now sat stretched out on the roof of their subterranean home with a lazy smirk.

'Y'know, I kinda like hangin' out with ya dad..' Thanatos sounded amiably, being the first to break the serene silence that had fallen between them. His words made Hades' smirk widen and his heart swell a bit with pride. He and his son had always had a close relationship and it was a relief to know that Thanatos still regarded him with that same fondness. It made the blue-flamed god more determined to find out exactly what was bothering his son.

'Thanks kid.. Now are ya ready to talk about what's troublin' ya short-flames.' Hades asked lightly, hoping that a relaxed and sympathetic tone might help soften his son's stubborn resolve. At his father's words Thanatos instantly flashed a sheepish look.

'I can't..' He responded in a soft voice which seemed to be laced with guilt.

'What?' Hades flared slightly with slight umbrage, his son still didn't want to confide in him..

'It's not that I don't want to dad, I just.. _can_'t..' Thanatos responded uneasily and turned his head away looking slightly awkward. This caused Hades to frown inquisitively.

'Do the Fates have somethin' t'do with this Than?' The Lord of the Dead sounded in a grim voice, his expression turning serious now.

'_Eh_… sort of..' The golden-flamed god finally gave a reluctant reply after a short pause.

'Whatta ya mean 'sort of'?.!' Hades asked as his flames flared a slight white in frustration at his son's ability to dance around the issue.

'Alright dad, here's the thing..' Thanatos sighed heavily, his shoulders sagging as his head turned towards him. One set of golden orbs locking with the other set. '-I gotta do somethin' today that is gonna get me into a _lot_ of trouble. There's nothin' I can do to avoid it, this has to happen..' The fiery teen god almost looked apologetic as he said these words before getting to his feet. He then gave one last rolling sigh before throwing his father a remorseful look. '-but before I go and meet my destiny I just want to say one thing.'

Hades blinked confused by his son's words. He had absolutely no idea what his son was talking about. What kind of trouble was his child planning to insight? His son was really plotting something big… was this a confession of sorts?

'_Oh_ _yeh_…' The blue-flamed Lord of the Underworld kinked a brow as his expression turned suspicious once more, disliking the fact that his eldest child was clearly hiding something. '-what's that?' The coolness seeping into his tone made Thanatos want to wince, his father obviously didn't know whether to believe him or not..

'I'm sorry dad..' Thanatos replied in a soft voice before he vanished out into smoky darkness, leaving Hades alone, still confused.

He could feel his blood beginning to boil with fury, his skin slowly switching from it's usual blue to red-hot in temper, his blue flames flickered and jolted upwards quickly turning a violent orange as smoke flared viciously out of his nostrils… What had the Fates dragged his son into now? Well if Thanatos wasn't going to tell him then there was only one place he was going to get answers from…

* * *

It was the morning of the Buphonia Festival and in Thebes it was a gloriously sunny day, not that this surprised anyone as today was Zeus' day and he was master of all weather. As Pegasus, who was already groomed, re-shoed and fully-preened for the big day, was casually eating grass outside the villa waiting for Hercules and the two teenagers to emerge. Inside the Villa of Hercules there was a huge flurry of activity as both Meg and Syrinx were rushing around trying to get both Iole and Hyllos dressed and looking their best of the festival in Athens. As Iole dressed herself in a long flowing blue chiton and did her own make-up Syrinx helped her with her hair. The young princess wanted her hair pinned up in ringlets and couldn't pull this look off without help. Once Meg had passed her son his chiton and ordered him to clean himself up, saying he was not presenting himself to Zeus looking a mess, she returned to her sewing room to stitch up the finishing touches of his chiton.

This piece of clothing was truly one of her best pieces. It was plain white with a small blue detail bordering the collar and sleeves to match his eyes. Her husband would look sensational in it. Setting the brand-new chiton down she picked up the vial of centaur's blood and smeared half the contents onto the shirt collar and sleeves, thinking that guarding his hands and head should be enough to keep her husband loyal. When the seeping red liquid first touched the cloth of the pure white chiton she gasped out as it left what appeared to be a stain, but after a moment of letting it seep into the fabric the 'stain' melted away leaving no trace it was ever there. A sigh of happy relief escaped the wife of Hercules, for a moment she thought she'd ruined this new chiton. The middle-aged brunette then scooped up the chiton for her husband and dashed out of her sewing room, hoping to catch the three of them before they left for Athens.

Hercules, who was dressed in his usual everyday gladiator-style hero chiton and bronze armour beamed widely as both Iole and Hyllos appeared at the bottom of the stairs looking spruced up in their best chitons.

'Wow. Look at you two..' He sounded cheerfully as he inspected them both. 'Heh, you look amazing, so good you make me look bad for wearing this old thing.' He gestured to his own clothing with a smirk. Iole flushed with pleasure at his words as Hyllos smiled widely.

'Mom insisted I look smart.' He replied to his father's word then added in a carefree manner. 'But I don't think it matters what we wear because we're only going to watch, it's not like we ever take part in it..'

'Ah, I'm sure your mother has her reasons for wanting you to look nice Hyl..' Hercules sounded with a secretive smile. He knew fine well that Meg made Hyllos dress up nice every year for his grandfather Zeus since this was the only chance the Lord of Olympus ever really saw his grandson. 'Now c'mon kids, we better go, we don't want to be late for the slaying of the ox.' When Hercules opened his front door to go and call Pegasus he was surprised to find a late-teenage youth standing there about to knock.

'Oh, thank Zeus I caught you Mr Hercules..' The young man stuttered a little out of breath, clearly he had run to the front door. '-I was sent by King Theseus to tell you..' The youth paused trying to catch his breath.

'Take it easy kid, what's the big emergency?' Hercules asked, gently placing a hand on the young man's back. He wondered what kind of trouble would befall Athens on such an important day. Both Iole and Hyllos exchanged unsure glances, did this mean they would be going to the Thebes celebrations instead?

'Urh, there's no emergency..' The youth sounded with a smile, his breath finally back in control. '-King Theseus wants you to be the one to light the sacrificial pyre this year, in recognition of all your heroic deeds. He can think of no-one more deserving and he won't take no for an answer.' The boy smiled widely as he bestowed the honour on the hero.

'Really?' Hercules sounded impressed, his smile widening into a boyish grin. 'I would be honoured to light this year's pyre, I've always wanted to do it!' He sounded joyfully.

'Excellent.' The youth sounded brightly. 'I shall inform his majesty at once!' The fleet-footed youth then took off at once and jumped onto his horse and rode off with incredible speed, it was obvious that King Theseus had picked thing young man because of his swiftness. Hercules knew that Hermes must have blessed this young man and was probably watching over him now, like he did with all mortal messengers.

'Oh geez..' Hercules then sounded in a troubled tone once the messenger had disappeared and something immediately came to mind. '-if I'm going to light the pyre then I better wear something else, I can't go in this.' He uttered to himself.

'Then perhaps you could wear this..' The familiar sound of his wife's voice spoke and immediately everybody turned to see Meg standing on the stairs. She must have been listening to everything without them noticing her until now. In her hands she was holding out the crisp new chiton.

'Oh wow Mrs Hercules it's beautiful, I wish you'd teach me to weave like that..' Iole sounded with awed respect, admiring the chiton she had spent three days crafting.

'Amazing mom, one of the best you've ever done!' Hyllos added brightly. 'Now it's dad that's gonna make us look bad..' The teenage red-head elbowed Iole who giggled at his words with a girlish smile.

'Oh Meg, you made this for me?' Hercules strode over to his wife and gently took the chiton, it was not only beautiful but was light and soft to the touch.

'Heh, took the best part of three days Wonder Boy but at least you'll look good while lighting the pyre..' She sounded with a slight flush in her cheeks, smiling awkwardly.

'You didn't have to do this you know..' Hercules added softly.

'I know but I wanted to apologise for being a jerk and this seemed like a good way to do it..' She sounded, rubbing her arms uncomfortably. Meg had always had difficulty expressing her deeper emotions which was why this was so uncomfortable for her.

'Meg, I know you don't like the Buphonia Festival but would you come with us this year and watch me light the fire?' Hercules asked gently, he knew his wife would probably refuse but he still had to ask.

'Oh Herc… You know how I feel about them 'murdering' and ox.' Meg shook her brunette bun ruefully as her violet eyes flashed with mixed feelings. She despised the senseless killing of beasts but she wanted to support her husband too.

'It would really mean a lot to me if you were there Meg, even if it was only to watch the lighting of the sacrificial pyre..'

'I don't know Hercules..' She sounded carefully, not refusing as such but torn between her deep-seated belief that this festival was barbaric and her desire to keep her husband happy by complying with his wish.

'You don't have to come with us now honey..' Hercules sounded gently. '-I'll send Pegasus back once he's dropped us off and you can meet us later, ok?' He added, showing he ws capable of compromise… she could come later when the 'senseless-killing' was over.

'We'll see Wonder Boy..' Meg smirked widely to him. 'Now you better go, you don't want to be late do you?'

'Oh gosh no.' Hercules exclaimed then pressed his lips to his wife's in a smooch. 'I'll put this on as soon as I arrive. I promise.' He added the last bit in a whisper before turning to the kids. 'Come on you two, let's get on the horse!' Both Iole and Hyllos instantly beamed widely and waved Meg off with their goodbyes and ran to get Pegasus. Hercules gave his wife a final goodbye kiss before he too left the villa. Meg went to the front door and waved them off with a wide smile before heading inside to do some chores now the house was nice and peaceful..

* * *

…As the green-skinned Lachesis finished off weaving the last bit of Hercules' life out her shorter sister Atropos was sharpening her sheers with a long metal scissor-file, a twisted leer curling her withered lips as she did this.

'It won't be long now..' Lachesis sounded gleefully.

'Finally. After all these years of planning everything will be as it should be.' Atropos added with a sense of relief, she really did hate loose ends.

'I can't believe it's taken _another_ eighteen years just to get here again!' Clotho squawked out as her blue withered hands rested on her tiny bony waist.

'I know, but that's the price of free will..' Lachesis replied as she smiled satisfied with her work. 'There. Now everything is ready.'

'Not quite everything..' Atropos added lightly causing both her sisters to look confused. This was instantly quelled by the sound of a long distant cry of fury that was slowly getting louder and louder. Atropos gestured in the direction it was coming from. 'We still have him to deal with sisters.'

'_ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHH!.!_' The furious bellow was now so loud it was almost upon them and by the rage in the voice it could only belong to one deity. The next second the front door to the Fates grotto was blasted off it's hinges as a the towering inferno of anger that was Hades entered their home.

'It's customary to knock before you enter somebody's home y'know..' Clotho scowled as she folded her arms and sniffed, sending the spider that had been hanging out her nose back inside. Hades, as usual, ignored her and glared viciously at the three twisted sisters.

'_Whadda ya makin__'__ my brat do now!_' It wasn't a question, it was a demanding and violent emotional accusation.

'We're not making him do anything..' Lachesis scowled now, affronted by this very suggestion, they would never force Thanatos into doing anything he didn't want to.

'_Liars!_' Hades declared loudly and his brutal orange flames shot an extra foot in the air. '_What__'__re you old bags schemin__'__?_'

'Nothing.' The three sisters replied together in a defensive manner and Hades shut his eyes tight wishing to try and curb the explosion of rage that was massing inside of him. As he tried very hard to stop himself his entire being shook and trembled like a volcano that was suddenly about to erupt.

'_Right.. That__'__s it. Hand it over!_' Hades' golden eyes snapped open and he glowered furiously, his red-skinned palm out now.

'No..' Atropos replied. Knowing instantly that he wanted their Eye of Fate to see the truth for himself.

'_I said.. GIVE IT!.!_' Hades snarled out then dived forwards towards Lachesis who still had the Eye of Fate in her possession. She squealed out in surprise as her brother lunged for her, easily subduing her due to the fact that she was half his size. As Hades hauled the Eye of Fate out of her left eye socket her two sisters instantly bounced into action, jumping onto his back and trying to grab the arm that now held the eyeball.

'_Hades_.. _No_.'

'_Give that back you brute.._'

'_You can__'__t have it!_' The Fate sisters all screeched out in annoyance at their little brother as the four of them wrestled for possession of the eyeball.

'_I won__'__t let you use my son as a puppet!_' Hades declared angrily as the Eye of fate popped out of his grip and rolled across the floor.

'_This is his destiny.._'

'_..you can__'__t alter it!_' The Fates continued struggling with the Lord of the Underworld as they all struggled towards the Eye, pushing and pulling each other out of the way for it.

'_I__'__m his father.._' Hades snarled out angrily, furious that his twisted sisters were impeding him from protecting his son. '-_I have to try.._' Suddenly Atropos managed to untwist herself from the mass of tangled deities on the floor and darted forward and scooped up the eyeball.

Realising quickly that he had lost the battle for the Eye of Fate Hades released his sisters and Lachesis and Clotho shot forwards to their sister, both glaring in aggravation now at his pointless time wasting.

'_Only with time will all be revealed.._' The three of them chanted together as Hades got to his knees still breathing ragged and about of breath. Glaring back furiously at them. '-_and then you__'__ll see his fate is sealed!_' The three sisters all cackled before being sucked into a blue vortex created by the Eye of Fate which also sucked in the entire Tapestry of Fate along with it so there was no way Hades could re-stitch today's events.

As their laughter echoed horribly Hades' shoulders sagged as his skin returned to it's normal bluish-grey tone and his flames returned bright blue and receded to normal as he suddenly looked dejected, still kneeling on the floor of the Fates' empty grotto. He'd failed… he'd failed to protect his son from whatever scheme his twisted sisters were using him for. Thanatos was doomed… and there was nothing that he could do to save his son.. Perhaps if Hades had been a less macho god he would have cried at the thought of his son being so helpless and completely at the mercy of the Fates… but instead the god just stayed there looking glumly at the floor. It was over. There was nothing more he could do. He knew where his three sisters had taken the Tapestry of Fate, straight to their parents' home, no doubt they would be telling their parents everything now. Neither his mother Nyx nor his father Erebus would help him. Although they would sympathize with him greatly they both would tell him it was pointless to fight fate. All he could do now was wait and see what happened next..

Hades lifted his hands slowly off of the cold stone floor, they were shaking slightly with the enormity of the situation. _My son, my only son__…_Suddenly his right fist curled tightly and turned a nasty shade of red along with the rest of him, his flames rippled violently down his arm. Immediately his fist smashed into the stone cold floor with a deafening banging noise, had he been mortal his hand would probably have shattered due to the sheer and deliberate force of the move. The entire ground and grotto around him quaked violently for a while once he'd done this..

'Dammit.. _Dammit_.. _DAMMIT!.!_'

* * *

…_At that moment on Sicily__…_

'Mommy, mommy..' Macaria squealed out excitedly as she skipped over to where Persephone had been tending to some pale lilies by a the tiny pool of water in the centre of her private grove. '-come see what I grew!' The tiny almost three year old girl beamed proudly flashing her square little teeth.

'In a minute sweetie..' Persephone replied distractedly as she pulled a few stray slimy seedlings off the water lilies.

'No. Come now..' Macaria sounded more insistently and grabbed her mother by the arm and tugged her as hard as she could.

'Ok, ok. Settle down Maca I'm coming, I'm coming..' Persephone responded then got to her feet and followed her daughter as the tiny goddess took off in the direction of the plant she had just finished growing.

'Here mommy, here. Isn't it pretty..' She declared brightly looking at her creation with pride. Persephone blinked at the tiny flower her daughter had grown. At first she thought it was a snow drop but the Goddess of Life realised quickly that snow drops weren't bright blue. Lifting the drooping head gently with a finger she smiled at the tiny little plant that was shaped a bit like a bell. Inside it had two tiny little pollen buds and looked a little more violet in colour inside.

'Do you like it mommy?' Macaria asked when Persephone had failed to confirm that it was pretty, the little goddess was clearly wanting an opinion.

'I do. I do..' Persephone smiled letting the tiny flower head drop. 'It's very pretty.' The white-skinned goddess beamed at her daughter and Macaria clapped her little hands excitedly pleased her mother liked it too.

'I have a name for it to!' Macaria exclaimed excitedly.

'You do?' Persephone's smile widened at this. 'What's that Maca?'

'Bluebell..' She beamed back. 'See 'cause it's blue and shaped like a bell!' The tiny goddess explained her name choice, proud that she'd figured this all out herself.

'Wow, that's really clever sweetie.' Persephone sounded impressed with her daughter.

'Do you think Grandma will like it too?' Macaria asked her mother unsurely.

'I think she'll love it!' Persephone sounded knowing that her mother would just adore this sweeet little plant. 'In fact, I think you should grow some in a ring around the tree by her house..'

'Really?' Macaria squealed out excitedly, bouncing on her toes now. However before Persephone could even confirm that this was a good idea the ground of her grove began to judder as some seismic activity in the Underworld caused the island to quake. It was only a slight tremor but was enough to knock Macaria off her feet and the little goddess scrambled into her mother's lap until the shudder had gone away.

'Uh-oh..' Macaria uttered once the rumbles had stopped. 'I think daddy's upset.' Persephone frowned slightly at the ground, wondering what was bothering her husband.

'I think so too sweetie.' She replied grimly before her mood suddenly perked up so her daughter wouldn't worry. 'C'mon, let's go find Grandma and you can show her how to grow your bluebells while I check on daddy..'

'Oh yay!' Macaria bounced out of her mother's lap at this suggestion and instantly began running off in the direction of Demeter's farmhouse. Persephone pulled herself once more to her feet and chased after her daughter hoping everything was ok in the Underworld.

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey peeps, I've been gone for two weeks and three days. Thank you for bearing with me and I hope this chapter is a welcome sight to many of you. I have not forgotten my other fics but things are getting pretty exciting in this fic so my focus has been on it… and like many of you, I too am actually looking forward to the moment when Hercules dies.. Which, incidentally, is going to be in the next chapter! I know there are a few of you out there that are going, 'for gods sakes Ditzy quit draggin' this out!' -but your going to have to bear with me guys, there's a lot of characters that I need to keep track of and loads of details that need to be covered in order for this story to work. Your not the only one who's frustrated by how long this is taking, believe me, I actually thought I'd have been further on by this point. However, this story is very complicated and if it's not written correctly or rushed in places then important details could be missed and if they are the whole story collapses and I have to tear down chapters and write them again (something I don't want to do!)… so please be patient. I still have characters to sort out, e.g. Hermes, the five imps and Sirens, Melinoe plus Zeus and Hera… so the next chapter may very well be a very long one (in fact, that's pretty likely).. Anyway, back to this chapter.._

_Ok, this chapter is purely a set-up chapter but it does have some pretty crucial stuff happening in it. Hades and the Fates arguing. This has been building up for a while, those who can cleverly remember that the Fates are behind everything that happens (as indicated at the start of this fic… see, I told you there was a reason for that flashback!) may stab a guess at what's to come, but let me just say the Fates a crucial in this next plot twist concerning Thanatos… and Hades is right to be worried! Of course, since Hades' suspicions come to the surface in this chapter a confrontation with the Fates was always on the cards!_

_Meg of course, handing over the chiton to Hercules is the signal that Paranoia's work is done, which will be dealt with in the next chapter in setting the scene.. Of course, I had to have Hercules and Meg make up with each other before the next chapter, that too is a crucial point as we're not finished with Meg yet! I know, I keep dragging out this poor woman's punishment… Sorry Meg!_

_Macaria and Persephone was such a cute little scene I couldn't resist putting in and it gets Persephone back in the Underworld for my next chapter because, again, she has a crucial role to play!_

_I do hope you like Charon's little river shanty of 'Row the Soul Down' which is a twisted and rewritten version of 'Blow the Man Down'…. personally, I like Charon's version better! XD_

_Phew… that was a long 'Little Notes' lol.. Stay tuned for more very soon!_

_~Ditzy x_


	55. The Death of a Hero

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it__…__ I don__'__t own Disney__'__s Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me__…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it__'__s forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first__…__ Also, because constantly being asked the same questions is starting to grate me: please __don't rely on Greek Myths__, this is Disney and they twisted a lot of myths around, I have done the same and explanations can be found in my Little Notes sections in relative chaps… having said that though, some knowledge will kind of give you a small glimpse into where this fic is heading.._

_Little hint: if you haven__'__t read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder__…__ Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work__…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**Review Replies:**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: If you know your myth I think you might have a clue.. I hope I do surprise you with a few things though! And yeh, there's nothing like father/son moments and mother/daughter moments to warm the soul! X**_

_**KaiaUchiha1: Whoa, ok, hold on… Sorry for the suspense hun, I swear by the Styx it was necessary though! Suspense over (well most of it anyway) in this chapter! Read on! X**_

_**DiscordantPrincess: Yeh, the flaming god really takes a hissy when the beginning of the truth dawns on him. I cringe with how he's gonna take the rest of the news when his son comes home later though.. And Meg will get a clue soon enough, don't you worry! X**_

_**HaileyBaileyOne: Hello, welcome to the Review Crew hun, you really have joined us at an exciting and critical point! I'm not surprised it's taken you so long to get here with at least five fics to get through it's quite a long read, huh? Thank you, I've never been called a Master of Plots before it's very flattering, admittedly my grammar isn't the best but I think it's not quite as important as a plot-line (I have kinda an OCC-thing when it comes to plots).. You hated seeing Meg rub the blood on? I cringed! I adore Meg and if I could have written this and kept her and Herc together I would have… unfortunately no plausible storyline in the cosmos to me could make that happen. The rules for becoming a hero were fixed in the film and that's what's forming the basis of this story, along with the message nobody can avoid their death.. And here's the new chapter hun, enjoy! X**_

_**Vikishus: Yup Hades is the man, though I kinda felt bad for Charon, the poor guy was just rowing innocently along and he gets smacked down with a golf ball XDDD I have no idea if it was deliberate or not, with those damn pyroboys you can never really tell.. And tell me about it! Getting everybody in place was a real headache! X**_

_**Nyx27Seth: Hahaha! Is it me or does Hades just bring a new form of epicness to a boring sport like golf? And I feel bad for him too, for once he's not the one causing trouble he's just trying to keep his family out of it… and Mac is adorable isn't she? X**_

_**Coldblue: Hey, no problem hun, I wasn't mad at you so no need to apologies, ok? And thanks… here's the chapter you've been waiting for! X**_

_**Jafar: Lol, thanks hun, I already swore to finish this but glad your enjoying the show Jaffacakes! XP**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

_Dedicated to: Everybody who's been waiting patiently for this chapter! The suspense is over and tissues at the ready people… if your like me you'll cry too! :'O x_

* * *

**Chapter Fifty-Five:****The Death of a Hero..**

Thanatos had been restlessly been pacing the throne room for, what seemed to him, an eternity. The longer and longer he had to wait for Paranoia to return the more and more knots of anxiety twisted in his gut. The golden-flamed godling had not realised when he'd first began plotting six months ago how nervous he could actually get over this. He'd naively assumed that he would just go in and end Hercules' life with his scythe then grab the mortal soul and speed on outta there before Zeus' thunder clouds were fully formed… _Bada-bing-bada-boom no fuss, no muss.. Right?_ …He'd been wrong, of course. Now that the enormity and reality of the situation was hitting home the godling found the pressures of pulling this task off without a hitch were seriously intense. If he failed this then the Fates would be furious but at the same time if he succeeded then his parents would be livid. Either way he was screwed… and he wasn't sure if he would like to infuriate the Fates anymore than he would his parents.

As the golden-flamed teenage deity paced, swivelling sharply as he turned to go back in the opposite direction, four sets of yellow eyes watched him from the sidelines. Pain, Panic and the Resentment Twins Jealousy and Envy all looked almost as anxious as the nervous God of Death-in-training.

'Where is he?' Envy hissed irritably, not daring to raise his voice higher than a whisper as Thanatos looked incredibly tense and liable to flame them.

'Yeh, the little runt better not have goofed this up..' Jealousy sounded as his own scowl deepened..

'_Aww_ shut up you guys..' Panic snapped in a hushed yet irritable tone, glaring at his younger brothers' lack of support.

'Yeh, the little guy's probably just been delayed… he'll be here, you'll see.' Pain added confidently, sticking up for his non-identical twin. Delays were sometimes inevitable in big schemes like this and the two of them knew better than anybody else it was better to be late back with everything in place than rush a job and miss something vital.

'Well he better be..' Envy replied grimly.

'-we ain't taking any punishment on behalf of that little pip-squeak.' Jealousy finished, folding his arms with a haughty sniff and his twin nodded in agreement.

'Oh that's _so_ nice..' Pain hissed crossly, not liking this selfish attitude.

'Some brothers you are..' Panic sounded matching his partner's disapproval, their mother would certainly not approve of this type of unsupportive behaviour. The four imps were spared from anymore arguing as the next second Paranoia arrived into the throne room, his blue shimmer appearing right in front of the teenage deity, stopping him dead in his tracks. The tiny blue imp quivered nervously as Thanatos threw him a solemn look.

'Is everything set?' The golden-flamed teen asked, his flames quivering with slight anticipation as he said these words.

'Set out and awaiting your devine intervention sir..' Paranoia grinned widely at the thirteen year old god smirking as his chest puffed out with pride complete with sharp salute. The little blue imp could not help but be happy that his work was now done. At his words Thanatos' whole stance seemed to instantly relax and the godling flashed the tiny imp a wide smile.

'It is? Alright, way to go Para!' The golden-flamed teenage God of Death-in-training then gave the little blue imp a thumbs up which burst with a little golden flame at the tip of his digit. 'See, I told ya you could pull this off, didn't I?' Thanatos sounded with satisfaction in his voice and this instantly made Paranoia's horns droop a little as the imp looked slightly disconcerted by the praise.

'Well… I err, didn't do it _all_ myself..' He sounded nervously, gripping his blue tail and twisting it nervously like his older brother Pain would do. 'I did have a little help..' The little blue imp admitted with an uneasy glance to his four brothers who were all stood together by the joint throne of Hades and Persephone. Amazingly Thanatos shrugged lightly in a dismissive manner at this confession from the tiny imp.

'So what? This was your first gig.. There's no shame in gettin' a little support, when I first started reapin' souls I was gettin' help from both Hermes and my own dad, it's how ya learn..' The golden-flamed godling then lent down so he could be closer to the tiny blue imp. Paranoia's horned ears lifted slightly at these words. 'The only thing that matters is ya did the job I asked ya to do.'

'Really? Thanks for giving me this chance..' Paranoia blinked before his toothy smile returned to his face, feeling his earlier anxieties about getting help vanish. He then felt something completely new, a warm fuzzy feeling in his chest, the satisfaction of doing a job right.

'Hey, we all gotta start somewhere, right?' Thanatos replied with a smirk before Pain and Panic stepped forward dragging his attention away from the short imp.

'We took the liberty of getting your scythe sharpened and polished up for you kid..' Pain sounded as Panic snapped his fingers causing Thanatos' long black-handled scythe with it's curved lethal blade to appear in both of their hands.

'It's our way of wishing you luck..' Panic added with a slightly nervous edge to his voice. '-with both this and Hades.' It was clear from the expressions on Pain and Panic's faces that they were worried about how the Lord of the Underworld was going to react when he finally discovered the truth.

'_Aww_, thanks guys.' Thanatos replied as he took his scythe and admired how it glinted in the dull light of the throne room. He'd always known that his father's minions cared about his well-being and even though he'd spent most of his childhood causing them extensive torture they were still willing to do this for him, he was touched. It was at this point the three imps and the fiery teen noticed that the Resentment Twins had gone from the throne room… obviously once they realised they were not in any trouble they had vanished off without anyone noticing.

'Somethin' tells me those two ain't gonna be rootin' for me..' Thanatos smirked widely.

'_Pffft_, forget them!' Panic snorted dismissively.

'Yeh, they're the Resentment Twins, they only care about themselves..' Pain added in the same disregarding tone.

'You just get up there and go knock a hero dead..' Panic added as both Paranoia and Pain threw supporting grins towards the God of Death-in-training..

'Ouch, your right..' Thanatos sounded checking the time on the shadow-dial on the side of his father's throne. '-it's almost time!' Then without another word the godling dissolved into smoky darkness that vanished upwards out of the circular hole in the ceiling…

* * *

The weather in Athens was a glorious, the spring air was fresh and crisp as the sun shone brightly and only a few sparse clouds dotted the sky. Pegasus landed just outside the city where the horses and chariots were parked and Hyllos jumped down before assisting Iole off of the flying horse. Hercules, who had gotten off first petted his steed and life-long friend before sending the winged-horse back to Thebes. Part of him was still hoping that his wife would relent and join them later on for the burning of the Sacrificial Pyre. The middle-aged hero then immediately went off to find a secluded area to change out of his everyday wear into the cotton tunic his wife had spend three days labouring over. When he re-emerged fully dressed in this new finery he found that many of the Athenians and out-of-towners who had come to celebrate Zeus' glory were staring at him in admiration. Not only was the tunic light and soft to the touch but it's simple design and neat weaving made him stand out from the crowd, Meg had really poured her heart and soul into this piece of fabric. There were muttering from the other Grecians as he passed as the openly admired his clothing and Hercules couldn't help but feel proud of his wife as the others admired her handiwork… this shirt was truly one of her best pieces.

Even Hyllos and Iole, who had been waiting patiently for him to rejoin them, gasped and beamed widely as they too admired him in his new tunic before the three of them headed towards the open field just below the Acropolis Temple for the opening of the Buphonia ceremony. Hyllos nervously joined hands with Iole who flushed slightly with pleasure at the innocent contact. Hercules pretended not to notice this but smiled to himself as he guided the two teens through the crowds to find a spot to watch the festivities..

* * *

'Whoa, pardon me, coming through..' Hermes spoke out clearly as he zipped and dipped through the mass of colourful deities gathered on Cloud Thirty-Three. 'Huhp, don't mind me guys..' He added as he cut in between Cupid and Psyche heading straight to Zeus and Hera. The God of Love and Goddess of Devotion blinked in confusion as he passed but didn't say anything. The little blue Messenger God was running slightly late after having to guide a mortal messenger to Thebes safely under the advisement of Athena.

'Cutting it a little fine, don'tcha think Hermes?' Zeus sounded jovially, not really angry but jesting the god.

'Yeh but gotta last minute errand from Athena, if that wasn't too nutty..' The tiny blue god then did and aerial flip and beamed around the room before turning back to his boss. '-and fabulous turn out Big Z, I haven't seen this many gods on one cloud since Thetis married Peleus.' Zeus chuckled at the little god's quip.

'Ah-hah, well of course Hermes, everybody came… except the Underworld.' He added this last part under his breath. Hades never came to this festival, he claimed his wife was far too busy and he'd be 'dammed' if he was coming up alone. Apparently his little brother thought this celebration was stupid, though Zeus couldn't see why.

'Well there is one pint-sized member of the Underworld here..' Hermes replied cheerfully as he gestured to little Macaria who was sitting in Demeter's arms. The Goddess of Harvest was talking animatedly with Poseidon, Amphitrite and Hestia, holding a tiny blue flower and gushing about how her two year-old granddaughter had grown it just this morning. 'So you excited about this year's festivities?' The little blue Messenger God turned back to the Rulers of Olympus beaming.

'Of course we are!' Zeus boomed out loudly.

'Athena tells us that our Hercules has been chosen to light the Sacrificial Pyre..' Hera added lightly, a smile curving her ruby lips.

'My boy's gonna be the star of the festivities..' Zeus declared proudly before adding. '-next to me of course.'

'And Hyllos has brought his little girlfriend with him this year, she's very pretty wouldn't you agree dear?' Hera asked her husband innocently.

'Indeed she is honey.' Zeus replied with a smile. 'My grandson has excellent taste! Just like me..' He added waggling his brows towards his wife.

'And Hercules..' Hera pouted in response.

'Yes, yes, Meg's lovely too..' Zeus added dismissively.

'Heh, well I'll guide you to your seats I believe the festivities are about to start..' Hermes sounded brightly before leading the rulers to their royal box.

* * *

'_Hades..?_' Persephone's disembodied voice rang out slightly anxious.

The blue-flamed god barely registered his wife's call. He was still slumped in the empty Fates' grotto gazing morosely at the stone floor. The god had no idea how long he'd been slumped there nor did it matter to him. All that mattered was he'd failed his son. His dark heart sunk even lower as he let out a low despondent sigh of despair and covered his face. He hadn't felt this wretched and helpless since Thanatos went missing during the whole Sisyphus 'incident'… but this was way, way worse than that. At least then he'd eventually been able to save his son, but this time? This time he could do nothing… because his son's fate was already set in the tapestry.

'Hades?' Her voice was closer this time, sounding more panicked now as she clearly couldn't find him. This time her worried tone registered with the blue-flamed god and he exhaled slowly, peeling his large bony hands away from his face.

'Seph?' He uttered softly a mixture of slight confusion and relief… copious amounts of relief. This acknowledgement of her presence seemed to be enough for the goddess to pinpoint her husband's location as the next second bright orbs burst into the dimly lit grotto and swirled to form his wife.

'Hades, what are you _doing_ here. I've been looking everywhere for you and I-' Immediately Persephone cut off from her exasperated rant as she saw just how pitiful her husband looked. Hades had made no effort to even get off the floor, he remained on his knees and despite the relief he felt to see her before him he couldn't bring himself to share it with her… he felt undeserving of it. Instead he sighed and returned his gaze to the floor, accepting her rebuke in a scarily submissive manner. Immediately Persephone's expression softened and her heart stung with compassion, she instantly dropped to her knees beside him and looked up into his downhearted face. Her arm slipped around him and rested between his shoulder blades, the other reaching up to gently touch his long chin, carefully tilting him so he was forced to face her.

'Sweetie, what's wrong?' Her voice was incredibly soft and warm but laced with slight anxiety as her wide green eyes flashed with worry.

'Oh Seph..' The fiery god's voice escaped him with a low soft rumble of anguish. 'I was right..' He concluded gloomily, one of his large hands lifting and curling it's bony bluish-grey fingers around her dainty white fingers that had been on his chin. For once the fiery god did not sound pleased to be right about something.

'Right? Right about what?' Persephone felt her heart started to quiver with the fear of what could possibly be wrong. There was a short pause as Hades gazed pensively down at her fingers in his hands, rubbing the back of her hand as he considered his next words carefully.

'About Thanatos..' He finally responded and his words made Persephone gasp out loud, the hand that had been slowly caressing his back instantly flying to her open mouth in shock. '-the kid is plottin' somethin', but it gets worse my sweet.' His fingers gripped her more securely, as if he couldn't bare to break the contact with her. 'The kid is justa pawn in somethin' bigger the Fates have planned..'

'The Fates?' Persephone squeaked out with disbeleif and it was only now did she become aware of the fact that they were actually sat in the Fates grotto.. She'd barely recognised it without the Tapestry of Fate taking up most of the space. 'What do they want with our baby-flames?' Her voice wavered nervously, hardly daring to ask the question but needing an answer at the same time.

'I don't know..' Hades sighed heavily and he hung his head for a moment before lifting it and returning to her face continuing. '-they wouldn't tell me and when I tried to find out for myself they bolted on me takin' the tapestry with 'em..' With his free hand he gestured unnecessarily around the grotto. '-whatever this is Than's fate is sealed.' His hand dropped back into his lap as he lowered his eyes back to their joined hands.

'Oh Hades..' Persephone's voice was soothing and thick with sympathy. The goddess then pulled her hand out of his and launched herself into his chest and wrapped her arms around his neck. The force of his wife throwing herself into him caused the blue fiery god to wobble slightly but his fingers instantly curled into her brilliant gold hair and he buried his face into the crook of her neck. Hades enveloped her into an embrace, grateful for the emotional closeness of the moment as he closed his eyes and took in his wife's sweet homemade perfume..

'I swear by the Styx Seph, I tried..' His voice sounded softly into the ear that was right by him.

'I know sweetie, I know..' Persephone murmured gently as she held him close to her. Unlike her husband the Goddess of Life's bright green eyes remained open as they flickered around the room, wondering just what the Fates had in store for them now. For some time the two Underworld Rulers remained embraced on the floor, clinging to each other as they both silently worried about their son and his future. They probably would have stayed there for longer had Persephone not chosen to break this sweet but depressive moment.

'Hades, we should go home..' The white-skinned goddess spoke softly, rousing her husband and causing him to lift his head reluctantly up from her shoulder.

'I suppose so babe..' Hades murmured glumly, not really caring for the idea but merely going along with his wife knowing he couldn't sit and wallow on the floor of the Fates' home for eternity.

'C'mon..' Persephone pulled back from him while keeping a grip of his hands. '-I bet you could use a stiff drink.' She smiled slightly at these words before the two of them vanished out into bright swirling orbs…

…Seconds later thee two Rulers of the Underworld appeared into the throne room, coincidently right after Thanatos had left, to find three imps blinking in confusion. As Persephone pushed Hades down into his side of the throne she turned to see Pain, Panic and their little brother Paranoia gazing at her and her depressed husband.

'Alright you three, _scram!_' The goddess scowled at them, not in the mood for imp-incompetence. 'Go pretend to be useful..' She added waving a hand in a dismissive fashion and instantly the three of them scurried off down the steps leading to the docks of the Styx. She smiled as they left, she was merely sparing them from becoming something for her fiery husband to take his bad mood out on. Hades made no comment on his wife's actions but merely lent his chin in one large palm and slumped back against his side of the throne.

'Here sweetie..' Persephone instantly turned back to her husband as she manifested a bottle of ouzo and two glass whiskey tumblers, pouring him a generous shot of the strong liqueur and pushing a glass towards him. Hades eyed the transparent drink for a moment before accepting the glass and necking the contents then slamming the now empty glass on his armrest. Persephone had poured herself a shot of the drink and sipped it slowly. The bottle which had been sat on her armrest vanished in a puff of smoke only to reappear in Hades' hand as he poured himself a second drink and sent the bottle back to his wife's armrest. This time he didn't neck it but took a couple of sips which turned his blue flames momentarily green.

'Wow, so what died in here?' A gloomy girl's voice immediately caused both Hades and Persephone's eyes to widen with surprise and turn to find Melinoe standing at the foot of the stairs to their private quarters. They had completely forgotten that she was still at home! The pale bluish-grey-skinned goddess with electric blue hair and star-white aura blinked at her parents with her wide green eyes, a neat brow kinking slightly upwards. Even she knew it was a little early in the day to be hitting the booze..

'Not now bluebird..' The blue-flamed Lord of the Dead responded coldly before taking another large swig, he was in no mood to deal with her morbid sarcasm at this moment in time. Persephone winced at the hard-hearted tone her husband used to address his first-born daughter, he'd never used such an abrasive tone with her and even though Melinoe was not one for sharing emotions the Goddess of Life could tell that his tone had stung her.

'Mel..' Her mother's voice instantly drew the eleven year old goddess instantly turned her head to Persephone. '-I want you to go straight to Grams and Grandpa's, ok?'

'Why?' Melinoe's eyes narrowed suspiciously towards her parents now.

'_Just do what your mother tells ya, capeesh!_' Hades snapped moodily as he slammed his fist on the armrest of his throne, narrowly missing his glass of ouzo as his flames flared an irritable white towards his daughter. Melinoe jumped in shock at the ferocity of her father's voice and the brutality of his flames.

'Alright..' She sounded in a meek little voice before vanishing out in a swirl of pale bluish-grey smoke.

'_Hades!_' Persephone cried out scandalized. 'There's no need to terrify her like that, she might act mature but she's still a little girl!' The blonde goddess scowled at her husband now and Hades sighed heavily.

'Yeh, I know babe, I'm sorry I'll apologise to her later, ok?' The blue-flamed god then shut his eyes and placed his fingers over his heavy eyelids and rubbed then with exasperated exhaustion, exhaling heavily. 'I just can't believe that the Fates have been schemin' and usin' my son as a puppet this _whole time!_' He ripped his hand away from his face and glared angrily. He still couldn't believe that Atropos had betrayed his trust by abusing her position as a mentor to mould his son into her very own lackey, it made him sick to his stomach! It was bad enough when they used _him_ as a tool but to suddenly drag his son into their twisted affairs… now they were taking this too far!

'I shoulda _known_ they would pull somethin' like this. _Gah! _Why did I even _let_ them talk me into lettin' Atropos _be_ Than's mentor!' The blue-flamed god ranted furiously and his words caused Persephone to take a large swig of her ouzo, not wanting to remind her husband she was the one who had talked him around. There was a moments silence as Hades rant disappeared into nothingness. The fiery god breathed slowly as his boiling blood slowly cooled once more and he picked up his glass of ouzo and took a swig leaving just the dregs behind.

'I understand how you feel sweet-flames..' Persephone finally spoke softly, her green eyes downcast forlornly into her half-glass of ouzo. 'It wasn't just your trust they betrayed.' She gave a heavy-hearted sigh before looking up at him with fearful eyes. 'But all we can do now it wait..' The goddess then reached out her fingers and clasped her husband's hand and threw him a sad smile. '-and see what happens next.'

* * *

Iole glanced around the crowds as they were waiting for the herd of oxen to be released for the chase up to the Acropolis alter the young Pherae princess could not help but notice that the number of Grecian men and boys in the crowd way outnumbered the women and girls.. She wondered why this could possibly be before her attention was dragged back to the present situation by Hyllos.

'Hey Iole, they're beginning the chase..' The red-headed teenage boy sounded cheerfully and when the young princess turned back towards the field she could see a handful of men forcing the oxen to move forward. Iole frowned curiously at these men and boys who were all wearing matching outfits of white, though it wasn't as bright and crisp as Hercules' tunic.

'Are they important to this ritual?' The young princess asked curiously as these people seemed to be on there own for this arduous task. She was stood in between Hercules and Hyllos in her pretty loose-fitting chiton of blue with deep purple ribbon tied in a cross-band around her newly-formed bust.

'Yeh, they're family of the original Kentriadae..' Hercules replied softly. 'They raise the oxen especially for the ceremony then drive them to the alter. No-one's entirely sure how they're family got selected for this honour but there's a rumour that says they were chosen by Zeus himself and the honour is passed hereditary from father to son.' The middle-aged hero smiled widely at the young girl before turning back to watch.

'But I thought it was forbidden to slay an ox?' Iole responded confused remembering what her home-tutor had once told her during a lesson about Zeus. Something about how they were the Lord of Olympus' favourite creature and that killing one, even in sacrifice, was considered murder in his eyes.

'It is..' Hyllos replied with a boyish smile. '-but you'll see what happens soon, I don't wanna spoil it for you.' The red-head actually looked excited by the prospect of what was coming next so the dark-blonde Princess of Pherae decided just to keep quiet and watch. She watched as the Kentriadae family finished herding the oxen towards the alter and poured out some grain on the large grey-stone slab.

'See, that grain?' Hercules sounded softly. 'It's a special blend and only the ox who choose to eat it will be slaughtered.. It's the animal's choice to die..' The middle-aged hero explained this to her and sure enough, out of the entire herd only a few oxen chose to eat the grain. Iole wasn't so sure if she agreed with the logic behind this, all the ones who chose to eat the grain looked as though they hadn't been getting enough at home. She was starting to see why both Meg and Syrinx refused to come to this celebration..

Once the ox were 'selected' another small man dressed in red moved forward with an axe then sliced the head of the oxen off with one clean blow to each. Once this grizzly deed was done the man in red dropped the axe and fled the scene of his guilt-ridden crime. Immediately he was stopped by the family of the Kentriadae as one stooped to pick up the axe.

'You killed the beast of our lord, how do you plead?' The eldest Kentriadae spoke firmly thrusting the axe back into the killer's hands, this made Iole smile… justice should be swift and harsh.

Unfortunately this was not the case.

'Don't blame me, blame he who sharpened the axe!' The man in red declared, pushing the axe to the blacksmith who had sharpened it for this sacrifice. The angry Kentriadae turned to the blacksmith.

'Don't blame me!' The blacksmith declared loudly. 'Blame he who brought me the axe!' Iole narrowed her eyes at this ridiculous blame-game… what was going on now? The Kentriadae men then turned to the axe-bearer.

'Then it was you who instigated this dreadful deed!' The elder declared accusingly.

'Don't blame me!' The axe-bearer cried out. 'It was the axe which committed the crime!'

'Hmph.. Yeh, right. Blame the tool..' Iole sounded under her breath, her pale blue eyes narrowed at this typically male behaviour. This really was getting stupid now.

'Then it is the axe which must be put on trail!' The elder of the Kentriadae cried out, grabbing the axe from the axe-bearer and lifted it to the crowd. 'To the court of Prytaneum!' Everybody in the audience cheered with the exception of Iole who was blinking confused. Immediately the crowd, which was now being lead by the Kentriadae family and the guilty axe.

'_Urgh_.. they can't be serious!' Iole sounded out loud with disbeleif.

'Ah, lighten up Iole..' Hyllos sounded with a smile as the three of them were now moving with the crowd. '-it's all just for fun.'

'But it makes no sense! We all know who killed the ox. The man in red. We all _saw_ him do it!' Iole sounded irritably, having trouble understanding this whole event... Perhaps you really had to be a guy to get this festival.

'Iole, settle down. The killing of oxen is forbidden but this is a special day, it dates back to the archaic times when killing oxen was not so taboo. It's the only time Zeus turns the other way and allows an inanimate object to take the blame..' Hercules replied trying to help the young princess as everybody filled into the open coliseum of the court of Prytaneum for the axe's trial.

'It doesn't make it right..' Iole sounded huffily as she took her seat between Hercules and Hyllos jutting her bottom lip out sulkily as she folded her arms. Hercules actually smirked with slight amusement at this reaction.

'Heh, y'know you sound just like Meg..' He replied lightly, remembering how his wife had been unimpressed with the festivities when he'd first brought her to one eighteen years ago.

If Iole had thought everything up to this point was ridiculous sitting through the trail to 'prove' the axe's guilt was worse… even though everybody acted dead serious throughout it Iole couldn't help but feel the whole thing was just like one massive joke. Finally once the axe was charged with being guilty it was sentenced to be thrown into the Aegean Sea so that the salty waters may cleanse the blade from the 'taint' of murder.

This meant that there was only one thing left to perform before the big feast…

…The lighting of the Sacrificial Pyre..

* * *

Back in Thebes Meg had just finished all her chores. She'd scrubbed down the kitchen, gotten up to date on all the laundry and dusted and polished until every room in the Villa of Hercules was gleaming. However, now she was bored and alone. Today Syrinx had left to go visit her father and all his hillbilly tree-sprite buddies who still lived on the island Phil had once lived on. The island itself was one of Demeter's special little islands reserved for nature sprites and could not be claimed by mortal hands. Meg had been surprised to learn this after the old satyr's death, both she and Hercules had always believed the island was Phil's and the wily old goat had never corrected them on this fact..

The wife of Hercules sighed heavily and checked the time on the sundial on the front porch of the villa. It was almost time for the lighting of the Sacrificial Pyre in Athens. Her violet eyes glanced out over to the grass where Pegasus was laid out preening his winged feathers enjoying the late afternoon sun. Meg's deep pink lips curved into a smile… perhaps she would drop into Athens and surprise her husband and the two kids. Anything beat being stuck in a villa by herself until dusk when everybody returned home.

Immediately the brunette turned and headed inside, excitedly dashing up the stairs to put on her good chiton. If she was going to a festival she was going to look her best. She opened the wardrobe and sifted through her chitons until she found the dark-pink one she had been looking for. Pulling off her lilac chiton she dressed herself in this fresh one and headed to the dresser pulling her hair out of her red band and letting it fall loose over her shoulders. She brushed her hair lovingly before picking up a gold coloured band and tying her hair up in a high ponytail like she used to do when she was younger. Smiling at her reflection the brunette fixed her make-up then attached some gold earrings, feeling more like herself than she had in days. As she reached for her perfume bottle her fingers accidentally knocking the little vial of centaur blood off of the dresser. Meg did not react in time to stop the vial from hitting the ground and the moment it smashed against the hard wood floor the glass shattered. The wife of Hercules gasped in shock as the blood covered the floor and immediately picked up an old torn bit of rag to mop up the mess. However, the moment the cloth touched the blood it began to hiss horribly. Meg's face twisted in horror as more of the blood soaked into the rag. She backed away from it in shock confused as to why it was reacting this way. At this point she realised that the heat of the afternoon sun, which was magnified by the glass of the window, must be causing the reaction. Meg scooted to the bottom of the curtain, still on her knees, and shut it over slightly. She hoped that by blocking the sun's ray it would stop hissing. This seemed to work as the rag stopped hissing and instead issued a small amount of smoke. Still anxious but now curious too the brunette woman edged back to the rag and picked it up. It was incredibly warm to the touch, like it had been sat by a fire and when she lifted it she almost cried out in horror… The underside of the rag had burnt away and a small scorch-mark was now where the blood had spilt on the floor! She couldn't believe it… The centaur's blood reacted violently when it was near heat!

Suddenly her violet eyes widened in terror as a new thought came to her mind. She'd spread this stuff on Hercules' shirt… and her husband was due to light the Sacrificial Pyre very soon!

'Oh no..' She sounded as dread filled her heart. '_Hercules!_' Meg immediately jumped to her feet before dashing out of the room, flying down the stairs and bursting out of the front door so fast it banged against the wall of the villa.

'_Pegasus!_' She screeched out at the top of her lungs, panic filling her eyes. Immediately the winged-horse swivelled around confused and got to his feet. He made a whistling noise of uncertainty. 'We have to get to Athens fast..' Meg sounded as she pulled herself up onto the winged-horse, Pegasus aided her with his wing. '-Hercules is in danger and it's all my fault!' Pegasus actually made a snorting noise which clearly meant 'what?'..

'_Just move Horse-Feathers, I__'__ll explain on the way!_' She added impatiently before Pegasus spread his wings and she remembered she had a fear of heights. As the winged-horse took of Meg screeched out on fear and gripped his mane tightly..

* * *

…'This is it honey..' Zeus said softly to his wife and Hera smiled back as all the gods gathered for the lighting of the Sacrificial Pyre…

…'This is it Iole..' Hyllos sounded with a smile to the princess as the two teens gathered with the rest of the crowd. Watching as Hercules took hold of the long handled torch which was passed to him by a member of the Kentriadae family. The middle-aged hero then turned around and faced the long walk to the large pyre where the dead oxen lay, surrounded by hay, branches and other natural debris that would help cook the meat…

…Deep in the lower-east side of the Underworld in a large cavernous home built into the side of the deep grey land, the Fates cackled in the centre of their tapestry. It was taking up almost the whole living room the only thing it left space for was the two large seats by the heavy black mantle.. Atropos raised her scissors high above her head as Clotho and Lachesis grinned widely.

'This is it sisters..' She declared wickedly and her words caused Melinoe to blink confused. The gloomy little goddess was perched on the knees of her grandfather as Erebus slouched lazily in his seat sucking on a cigar. Nyx was seated opposite them holding a cup of hemlock tea and a finger sandwich, though unlike her fiery son the Goddess of Night had de-boned and de-nailed the fingers first before putting them in sandwiches.

'What are they on about?' The pale goddess asked her grandparents bemused and Erebus kinked a grey brow at his granddaughter.

'Just ignore them punum..' Nyx sighed and rolled her silvery eyes at her daughters' dramatics over this life-line.

'Yes..' Erebus added as he stubbed out his cigar-butt smirking at Melinoe. 'Your aunts sometimes get carried away with their work, now be a dear and pass your aging grandpa some of those finger sandwiches..' He flashed her a large grey-fanged leer. Melinoe obliged and picked up the plate of sandwiches and offered it to the hulking black shadow that was her grandfather. 'Thanks li'l shade..' Erebus smirked at Melinoe before helping himself to a few of the sandwiches then taking a bite out of one then adding, '_Mmm_… they are good.' This caused Nyx to smile widely at her husband as Melinoe picked up a sandwich and nestled more comfortably into her grandfather's lap…

…Thanatos, who had been waiting in deep in the shadows of the Acropolis temple, grinned widely as the middle-aged Hercules approached the pyre of slain oxen, holding the long-handled torch high as he stopped beside the pyre. The crowd just below him on the slope down to the city cheered widely as he raised the fire over the pyre.

'It's go-time..' Thanatos chuckled evilly to himself as he disappeared from sight, his eyes vanishing last as he became invisible and approached the opposite side of the pyre to where Hercules stood. As the priestess of the temple began the prayer to Zeus the God of Death-in-training grinned widely towards his doomed cousin..

'To our father up in Olympus, we humbly seek forgiveness for the slaughter of your beloved oxen and offer up their souls in honour of the glory of your name..' The priestess began solemnly…

* * *

…'Hurry Horse-Feathers hurry!' Meg sounded as Pegasus burst through the cloud-line and the brunette squealed out as the winged-horse shot downwards like a bullet towards the ground. She felt her stomach do another sickly flip as nausea built up forcing her to shut her violet eyes and cling for dear life. Pegasus landed as close to the temple as he could but with the massive crowd blocking the hill to the Acropolis Temple Meg was still nowhere near as close as she'd have liked to be.

'_Urgh_… get me offa here before I ruin your upholstery..' The wife of Hercules groaned in a sickly tone, feeling a little green but glad they were once more on solid ground. Pegasus immediately sat down forcing Meg to slide off of his back and onto the grassy floor. The winged-horse then grasped the back of her chiton and lifted her up, forcing the dazed woman to stand on her feet. He then began nudging her towards the crowd with an insistent whiny of panic. Meg immediately shook off her dizziness and gasped as she looked up at the temple… the priestess was almost finished with the prayer!

'Oh no.. no, no, no..' Meg uttered as she shot forwards in a blind panic towards the crowd and began instantly fighting through the masses to reach the front. '_Urh_, excuse me, watch out, coming through… move it or loose it Mr..' She sounded as she pushed abruptly through. When she paused halfway her violet eyes widened as her husband turned to the fire as the priestess walked away. '_No!_' She called out causing many people to turn to her in shock as she ploughed desperately forward, many people now actually getting out of her way. 'Stop! Don't light it Hercules!' Her whole being was panic-stricken now as she was almost at the front.

High up on the temple Hercules couldn't hear his wife but Thanatos did. The invisible God of Death-in-training turned to see who would dare try and ruin this for him but smirked wickedly when he realised it was the hero's wife..

'Say goodbye to your husband Megara..' The invisible god spoke softly as Hercules lowered the torch to the hay beside him..

'_Nohh!.!_' Meg screamed out as the hay immediately caught fire, the wife of Hercules dropped to her knees distraught and covered her mouth knowing she had failed to warn her husband.

'Mom?' A boy's voice said in a bemused tone from nearby and Meg's wide aghast violet eyes turned to see both Hyllos and Iole looking both worried and concerned.

'What's wrong?' Iole asked as her pale blue eyes looked almost as terrified as the brunette's did. Immediately Hyllos helped his mother to her feet and Meg instantly grabbed both Iole and her son by the shoulders.

'Go find Pegasus!' She sounded crossly, using this anger to mask her true fear of what was going to happen next. 'I don't want you to see this!' The brunette pushed them both sharply back.

'But mo-om..' Hyllos started to counter her.

'Don't argue with me! _Just go!_' She screamed the last part out with a hint of her true panic showing through. Immediately Iole gripped Hyllos, who's violet eyes were still dazed with confusion at his mother, and began to pull him away from the temple…

…Once the flames from the torch nestled themselves comfortably in the pyre and were crackling away happily Thanatos' invisible smirk twisted horribly… he knew centaur blood reacted horribly to heat, but what happened when it was lit on fire? The invisible godling then bent low over the spreading flames then sucked in a deep breath before blowing the flames towards Hercules. Immediately the fire sparked causing the middle-aged hero, who had been distracted by the sudden fuss near the front of the crowd, gasped out as the fire sparked and the flames jumped at him. The orange embers flew everywhere and when one little spark landed on the sleeve of his brilliant tunic it ignited into flames...

'_ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHH!.!_'

The piercing scream that issued forth from Hercules was enough to silence the both the crowd and the gods who'd been watching from above. As the flames quickly spread around his body the hero screeched out in agony, searing pain blistered over him.

'_Hercules!.!_' Meg cried out and stumbled forwards blindly as her tears obscured her vision… she moved instinctively, following his howls of pain before a stranger grabbed her and shielded her from seeing his actual pain. Too weak from the mixture of shock, grief and guilt to fend off her 'protector' the wife of Hercules sobbed loudly and uncontrollably. Her 'protector' was uttering soft apologies into the back of her head which she barely heard.

'_Dad!.!_' Hyllos too screamed at the same moment as both he and Iole stooped at the sound of his pained screams. Immediately the young teenager wrenched his arm away from the Princess of Pherae and ran back towards his parents.

'_Hyllos!_' Iole sounded emotionally as tears pricked her eyes, running after the son of Hercules before being gripped by a concerned Athenian who then yelled out towards a group of men.

'Stop him! _Don__'__t let him see his father!_' Immediately the small group of men grabbed Hyllos and pulled him back away front the temple so he couldn't see anything.

'Lemmie go, lemmie go!' The red-headed teenager struggled, trying to throw off the men.. 'I have to help him!' He cried out as tears stung his eyes.

'You can't!' One of the men yelled out before adding grimly, 'There's only one god who can ease his suffering now..'

* * *

'_Hercules!.!_' Hera's piercing cry of distress filled Cloud Thirty-Three as many gods gasped out in a mixture of shock and horror. Some covered their mouths, others covered their eyes and Demeter turned away, shielding her granddaughter Macaria from seeing the horror unfolding below. The Queen of the Gods began sobbing hysterically before turning to her husband who was staring down at his burning son in shock. '_Zeus, do something to save him!_' Hera's panicked words washed over the Lord of Olympus and he immediately got to his feet. Being a master of the weather Zeus did the only thing he could do to help.

Thick rain clouds darkened the whole of Athens as Hercules flailed, still writhing in the agony of flames and immediately thick heavy rain fell fast and furious onto the temple and pyre. At this point Thanatos knew if he did not snatch Hercules' soul now he would never get it. Instantly the invisible pyrogod jumped into the huge pyre and headed towards Hercules who finally collapsed onto the eastern edge of the massive fire. The godling instantly revealed himself to the dying hero.

'Take my hand!' Thanatos roared over the ferocity of the flames. 'I can make your pain go away but you must take my hand first!' The godling extended his boyish white hand towards the charred hero and with the pain already ten times more than anything he could bear, pain searing his whole being, Hercules used his last ounce of strength to reach out for this god's hand… then he caught the glint of something silver and sharp swing down towards him before he completely blacked out.

'Heh..' Thanatos smirked widely as he grasped the spirit of Hercules tightly in his grip. '_Gotcha_..'

…The next second the clouds darkened considerably as lightning blitzed the sky. Immediately the rumbling of clouds was filled with a deafening roar of fury..

'_NNNOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHH..!.!_'

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey peeps…. I promised this chapter was going to be longer! And oh boy, Zeus sounds pissed doesn't he? I'm sorry about the cliff-hanger but the next chapter will be picking off exactly where I stopped… so what's Thanatos gonna do next? You'll just have to wait!_

_Ok, a few little myth notices for this chapter.. In myth it was actually Hercules' third wife Deianira who made the shirt and suspected her husband of being fond of Iole (but this being Disney I kept him with Meg because I actually like that girl!).. Once her husband had left for the festival to Zeus (it doesn't name one so I picked one out) she spilt the blood and it burned like acid on the floor. She then, like Meg, rushed off to try warn her husband only, unlike Meg, arrived too late as he had already burned to death… she later hung herself unable to live with the guilt. That's __not__ going to happen, I have a much better plan for Meg which you'll have to wait and see for!_

_As for the Buphonia festival itself, this actually happened around June or July.. That didn't work for me as in the series that's around the time of Titan Smitin' Day (the month can be seen when the Muses flash Bob a calendar) so I changed it to a spring festival so it wouldn't be seen as the same thing. This festival pretty much happened as I wrote it and I found the whole idea of blaming an axe for the death of an ox utterly ridiculous which is why the women, plus Hades and Persephone find the whole thing absurd too… I did twist and add a couple of little things to better suit the story but the whole section with the ox and the blaming of the axe then dragging it to trail actually happened… what can I say, Greeks ARE NUTS!_

_Uh-oh… stay tuned for the next chapter, it's gonna be a scorcher (hint, hint!)…_

_~Ditzy x_


	56. Hercules' Final Underworld Journey

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it__…__ I don__'__t own Disney__'__s Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me__…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it__'__s forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first__…__ Also, because constantly being asked the same questions is starting to grate me: please __don't rely on Greek Myths__, this is Disney and they twisted a lot of myths around, I have done the same and explanations can be found in my Little Notes sections in relative chaps… having said that though, some knowledge will kind of give you a small glimpse into where this fic is heading.._

_Little hint: if you haven__'__t read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder__…__ Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work__…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**Review Replies:**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: I take it your silence is a good thing! ;) X**_

_**KaiaUchiha1: Hercules is checkin' in now hun! Sorry for the delay but this is a long chapter! X**_

_**DiscordantPrincess: Poor Meg indeed… even though she raced to save her husband and spare her son the sight of him burning she was still too late. Sorry for making you cry, I knew it was coming and I still cried myself! Hopefully the next chapter will make you smile! X**_

_**HaileyBaileyOne: Hmmm, enjoying desperation? That's gotta be a new one… but relax, I knew what you meant. And you may have to wait a little bit for more Meg, Hyllos and Iole. The next bit focuses on the gods and what happens to Thanatos and the rest of the Underworld. X**_

_**Vikishus: Yay, somebody got the joke! X**_

_**Nyx27Seth: Hahaha! I'm lovin' the Spanish, I actually thought it was something like 'stupid fucking bitch is being a massive idiot' but thanks for the translation! And sorry about the cliff-hanger but it was necessary… and why are you surprised? You know I'm evil XDD**_

_**DarkRissing: Ok, I'm intrigued… is it really supposed to be Rissing or did you misspell Rising? And your not a Zeus fan, well you'll like the start of this chapter then! And FYI, Thanatos caught the end of your happy little dance and was very impressed! XP**_

_**Coldblue: Lol I'm sure you've pointed the Final Destination thing before but yeh, it is similar to that. Macaria? I think you mean Melinoe… and she'll get one soon, that's one of the loop-holes I'm closing when I finish this fic. And both Melinoe's mentors and one of Macaria's has been mentioned but their all up on the profile page in mine. As for P.V.D, it's on the backseat for the moment while I try and finish this, it's become too much to try and write two fics at once so I'm focusing on finishing this one first! X**_

_**Jafar/Nasira (because I think you're the same person): I think you shouldn't tell me what to write, it's actually a little insulting. This fic is about more than Thanatos' revenge on Zeus it's also about the Fates' final plan for Hercules. I can't make this chapter the last chapter because there are many loop-holes that need closing, I'm actually **__**trying**__** to finish this fic but I don't need pressured to do it. I'm glad you like the story but please let me finish this properly, I don't want to rush it and have more plot errors than Mickey's House of Villains.. X**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

* * *

_Warning: This chapter does feature some slight child-abuse… I don't condone it, I'm just warning you._

* * *

_Dedicated to: Anybody who doesn't hate me by the end of this chapter! X_

* * *

**Chapter Fifty-Six:****Hercules' Final Underworld Journey**

Zeus' roar of fury echoed ominously around Cloud Thirty-Three and no god there _dared_ to move, everybody's eyes were wide with shock and staring at the Ruler of Olympus, rooted to the spot in terror. Zeus was breathing slow deliberate breaths as his frosty cold blue eyes glared down at the burning pyre which had just taken his son's life. The skies, which had once been warm and sunny were now a deep, dark, murky-almost-black and a bone-chilling wind was now blowing through the atmosphere as the rain continued to fall thick and hard down onto Athens.. As Hera sobbed into her hands, shaking and surrendering to the sudden overwhelming grief that filled her being the Lord of Olympus' blue eyes narrowed as he finally located his' son's soul… tight in the grip of a very familiar golden-flamed miscreant.

'_Thanatos_..' Zeus uttered the godling's name with more hatred than he'd ever expressed towards both Hades and his father Cronos. His brilliant aura flared with irrepressible fury towards his nephew then suddenly the little fiery delinquent shot off in a south-westerly direction in a little golden streak of fire. Immediately Zeus turned around, determined that the godling was not going to reach the Underworld with his son's precious soul.

'_WHERE__'__S MY THUNDERBOLTS!.!_' His loud ferocious voice boomed…

…Thanatos pulled himself out of the fire and stood on the soaking wet tiled-floor of the temple. The rain that had started seconds after his scythe had severed Hercules' soul free from his body was battering down heavily and even though the huge Sacrificial Pyre was now far too well-established to be put out by rainwater the flames hissed violently as the droplets splashed it. Thanatos too was getting wet and his own fiery hair spat and flickered as the rainwater attacked it brutally.

'Well, I guess _Bolt_-for-brains must know your dead now, huh?' The godling spoke casually and turned to the listless soul of Hercules. The soul of the hero merely floated lifelessly next to the God of Death, who was still gripping his translucent arm. The once living hero's eyes were shut and his head hung down limply facing the ground. Thanatos merely rolled his eyes at the lifeless soul.. sometimes the transition from being alive to being dead took the spirit time to process leaving them in this comatose-like state, but the hero would come around soon enough.

Not wanting to linger, and give Zeus a chance to nail him with half a dozen thunderbolts, the thirteen year old godling gripped the soul of Hercules and began running in the direction of the Temple of Necromancy and the main entrance to the Underworld. The soul of Hercules offered no resistance and followed the godling as he guided him through the spitting rain and blurring Grecian scenery as the God of Death sped out of the state of Athens, through Corinth and into Sparta.

The ominous dark clouds rolled through the sky, giving chase to the teenage godling. Just before Thanatos reached Ares' main city state a bolt of lightning hurtled down from the gathering mass of black clouds that rumbled dangerously. The thunderbolt landed inches from where the godling had been seconds away and cracked off Gaia's surface with a blinding blitz of light that made him jump backwards in shock.

'_Yowza_..' Thanatos exclaimed loudly, it had been a little too close for even his comfort. '-somebody's been practisin'.' He added in grim assessment of this new development, he hadn't expected the Lord of Olympus to be such a keen shot. He must have been using Hermes for target practise… poor guy, he was the only god who could move as swiftly as him. This also brought an worrying chill to the fiery godling's spine as he instantly realised that this meant Zeus had been intending to hit him with his bolts at some point.

For a millisecond the godling stopped as this realisation hit him. Then he gripped the soul of Hercules more tightly and began moving again, changing tactics by shooting straight into the city of Sparta instead of going around. He quickly weaved in and about the city knowing that the Lord of Olympus wouldn't want to upset Ares by accidentally hitting his city state, however the moment he shot out of the other end a thunderbolt shot down forcing him to perform an aerial-flip out of it's way. He swerved into the large forest on the edge of Corinth wondering if the Lord of the Olympus would dare strike him down in one of Artemis' sacred open-air temples. A sharp flash of light suddenly blitzed the forest scenery causing a tree near him top irrupt into a blaze of fire….

…Apparently he did dare!

As birds and woodland critters fled the scene in scared and terrified Thanatos shot through the large woody area with Hercules' soul drifting listlessly along. They then changed swiftly in a south-easternly direction towards the state of Epirus where the surface level of the Temple of Necromancy stood. Inside its gloomy bone-like coliseum walls was the main entrance down into the Underworld. If he could get there without Zeus hindering him by striking him down he would be home free.. Once a soul crossed the gates to the Underworld it was legally the property of Hades. Zeus seemed to realise this too as the moment the gloomy dark temple standing alone on it's darkened ridge appeared into view the thunder bolts intensified. With only split seconds between the bombardment of bolts it took Thanatos some clever ducking, incredible aerial acrobatics and fancy fleet-footed manoeuvres before he made it inside with the soul of the dead hero dragging behind him..

…The golden-skinned King of the Gods saw his son's soul disappear inside the Temple of Necromancy and his eyes narrowed furiously. He realised that the God of Death had taken Hercules down to the big basement, right into the clutches of..

'_Hades_…' Zeus growled with venom before he roared the next bit as thunderclouds clashed angrily together. '-_Your behind this!.!_'

* * *

Hercules blinked his transparent blue eyelids as his ghostly baby blues refocused hazily on his surroundings. His head felt oddly fuzzy as he gazed around the dark cavernous dock he was standing on, lit dimly by a couple of blue torches in brackets. He could sense the mixture of sweet mint and gently asphodel pollen as his gaze took in the creepy docks.

'Where am I?' The dead soul of the hero wondered aloud as he looked out onto the oddly familiar luminous blue waters of the Styx. As foggy mists rolled over the waters Hercules turned to look around at the delicate flowers and other unidentifiable weeds growing around the edges of the docks…

'Your in the Underworld, where the Tartarus else would I take a dead soul? Thrace?' A boyish voice sounded, his tone as dry as kindling. The spirit of Hercules turned and immediately found himself face to face with a skinny white-skinned teenager with golden eyes and a golden fiery quiff of flames.

'Am I dead?' Hercules asked his cousin dimly.

'Well no duh's Sisyphus..' Thanatos raised his brows in a slightly mocking fashion. '-you're a credit to mortals both living and dead.'

'Hey! There's no need to be rude. I just asked.' The dead hero glared at his cousin who was exactly the same height as he was. The dead hero then blinked in shock as he realised what this meant. 'Wait a second, if I'm dead that means you _killed me!_'

'_Nohh_..' Thanatos drawled with a sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose frustrated. Mortals always blamed him for they're deaths, even though in this case it was true. 'You burnt to death, remember?' He then rolled his eyes.

'_Yes_. I'm _dead_ not mentally incapacitated!' Hercules folded his large spectral arms together and glowered across to his immortal soul-reaping cousin.

'Alright,_ sheesh.. So-rriee!_' Thanatos raised his boyish white hands in mock-defeat, his apology coming out carelessly and hardly sincere. The golden-flamed son of Hades lanced his deceased cousin a dark scowl before turning away and muttering scornfully to himself, 'What is it with dead guys, they're always so touchy about how they died..'

The silence spiralled now as neither cousin said a word to each other. After a short interval of silence the front bow of the black gondola appeared with it's with it's intricate spiny detailing. Then out of the mists appeared the bony figure of Charon, his long greying limbs wrapped by a navy cloak. He flashed Thanatos a wide grin, clearly pleased to have a soul to row across in this dismal springtime. The teenage god flashed the sinister boatman a wide grin back before both he and Hercules approached the edge of the dock..

'It'll be two silver drachmas to-' Charon instantly broke off from his rasping and his hollow sockets widened at the sight of the spectre in front of him. 'Oh it's you again.' He added with distaste, recognising the hero who had been in the Underworld more times than he could care to remember. 'How many times do I have to row you over?'

'I think this will be the last time..' Hercules grinned sheepishly, going to rub the back of his head but his hand couldn't feel anything. Grimacing confused the dead soul lowered his hand.

'That's what you think!' The fiery thirteen year old deity stepped forwards with an 'oh-so-cocky' leer stretching his square jaw. Immediately he snatched Charon's oar off of him still smirking widely.

'Hey! Give that back you flaming little hoodlum!' Charon cried out in both shock and outrage, balling his fists in anger towards his boss' son.

'_Err_.. No.' Thanatos responded after pretending to muse over it. 'Y'see Charon, we're kinda in a hurry here and you, no offence, have the rowin' skills of an agin' mortal woman.' The fiery god's smirk widened as if silently laughing at the boatman and it was obvious to the dead Hercules that Charon took it as an insult.

'_Ohh_.' The skeletal boatman gave a slight shudder of repressed fury. 'Just you wait 'til your father finds out about this..' He started to fire at the God of Death-in-training but was cut off by the bold teen deity.

'_Pffft_. Yeh.. Good luck with that..' Thanatos instantly brushed passed Charon and stood at the back of the gondola, dipping the oar into the water then leaning on it for support. He was still wearing an irritatingly-smug grin. 'I think me commandeering your boat is gonna be the _least_ of his concerns, don't you?' The teenage God of Death-in-training suddenly flared irritably at the skeletal boatman. 'Now I suggest you _shut up _and get in this dammed thing!'

As Hercules moved to get in the boat he passed the two silver drachmas that had appeared in his hand to Charon before getting in the gondola. The boatman blinked at the silver coins before grinning at pocketing them then clambering into the boat beside the dead soul. Thanatos pulled the oar out of the water again before pushing away from the edge of the northern Styx dock. The god rowed with the single oar long enough to get a decent pace going. Once he had the boat cruising comfortably he smirked widely.

'Now to get to the southern docks in record time..' The godling uttered to himself, summoning a second oar and bouncing down from a standing position into a sitting down rowing stance.

'Whatta you doing now?' Charon snapped as his skull-like head swivelled around to the godling, his hollow black socket-like eyes narrowing cantankerously.

'Kickin' this rowin' shtick up a notch.' Thanatos leered lazily back, knowing full well they needed to get Hercules registered as dead before Zeus showed up to try and 'claim' him back.

'Don't you even-' The skeletal boatman started to say but the teenage pyrogod wasn't listening to Charon and dipped both oars into the water. Immediately he began moving them in a circular-like motion, digging through the water. The boat jerked into a faster pace, building up speed as Thanatos forced the oars around in the water. '-_dayaaaahhhhhH_!' The boatman finished his sentence with a cry as he lurched, almost falling backwards. Hercules too was looking uncomfortable by the gondola's new speed.

'Tha-Thanatos..' Hercules stuttered nervously, gripping the side of the boat so he wouldn't fall into the Styx waters. '-c-couldja slow down a bit. _Please_.' The hero turned his head slightly to Thanatos but the godling seemed to have a solemn and set face, he was concentrating fully on the river as he was going to have to time the bends perfectly so they didn't crash. Hercules' words were completely lost on the godling. Charon had pulled himself back up but was now gripping the front bow for dear life as the gondola was shooting through the water at a terrifying pace. As the first bend came into view. Both Hercules and Charon yelled out in alarm as the corner rapidly moved towards them then seconds before impact Thanatos pulled out the left-hand oar and speedily rowed the right one causing the boar to careen out of the way of the bend. The black gondola speed down the river in it's new direction as Thanatos dipped the left oar back in and stabilized their trajectory..

* * *

Cerberus approached the water and lowered his three massive heads to lap up the cool waters of the Styx. All had been peaceful today so to entertain himself the gigantic black guard dog had spent his morning barking, chomping, spitting and chasing down any souls or undead unfortunate enough to wander in front of him. In the end though, there was only so much playing a destructive three-headed hound could do before he had to quench that insatiable thirst. Cerberus had not been lapping at the water for very long before the sound of distant yelling made the ears on his right-side head twitch.

'_YEEAAAAAAARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHH!.!_'

In this split second of yelling the black gondola shot passed the enormous black hound causing his three heads to pull themselves out of the water and gawp stupidly in the direction the boat had gone in.

'_Rahow..?_' Cerberus growled confused as all three heads cocked in sync with bewilderment as the gondola had disappeared again..

* * *

At the side of the empty southern docks, which was dwarfed due to the massive skull-shaped House of Hades, the three imps who had been kicked out of the throne room by Persephone were congregated together. Panic was holding a clipboard with a New Arrival form attached to it and while the skinny green imp was filling in the details about Hercules he knew, Pain was lent casually beside him on the jetty post. The tiny blue imp that was Paranoia was pacing back and forth restlessly while his eldest brothers ignored him for the moment.

'How old is Hercules now?' The green imp asked his chubby partner curiously, his quill hovering over the Age of Deceased section. The chubby pink imp's brows furrowed as Pain thought long and hard about this before eventually answering.

'I dunno… he'd just turned eighteen when Hades tried to kill him the first time, how long ago was that?' The pink imp shrugged with a grin and this made Panic frown as he considered this new problem.

'Hmmmm, well Than's thirteen and his parents were married four years before he was born..' The skinny pale green imp mused thoughtfully, scratching his chin with end of his quill. He then counted the year difference on his finger-like claws. '-so that's fifteen, sixteen, seventeen.. seventeen! Wow, seventeen years, that's impressive.' Panic sounded with a low whistle, he almost wondered how his boss had not managed to louse this relationship up yet.

'Yeh..' Pain agreed before looking confused again. 'So how old is Hercules?'

'I dunno. What's seventeen plus eighteen?' Panic asked his brother confused.

'Urm… I'm not sure. _Hmmmm_..' Pain then mused as his frown deepened to the point where it was painful just to look at his state of concentration. Eventually his face softened then the chubby pink imp sighed. 'Man, maths is hard..' Panic rolled his eyes at his brother's response, though unfortunately he didn't know the answer either.

'Oh geez, oh no. Hades is gonna flambé me when he finds out about my part in Than's scheme..' The mad mutterings of a stressed-out Paranoia washed over them as the blue imp paused in his pacing to quiver. As Paranoia's horned-ears drooped nervously Panic eyes flashed with an idea.

'Hey Paranoia.' He sounded casually from where he was perched with the clipboard. Immediately his words caused the large round bug-like eyes of Paranoia to swivel in his direction, his pupils still dilated fearfully. 'What's seventeen plus eighteen?'

'Aw like he's gonna know.' Pain shot out scathingly but didn't get to say anything else as Paranoia answered the question.

'Thirty-five..' The tiny blue imp answered automatically without having to consider the question. Pain's eyes widened in shock at this as did Panic's. The green imp shook himself out of his stupor and instantly jotted down Hercules' age before they forgot.

'How can you be so calm!' Paranoia suddenly declared in an overly-dramatic voice, twisting his horned-ears with his finger-claws. 'Hercules is gonna arrive any second and we're gonna get smote to smithereens for helping Thanatos! Hades is gonna kill us for helping out his son..' Paranoia paused as a new thought entered his mind. 'If that was Hades-' He jabbed his finger towards one of the large round skull eye windows of the throne room. '-because he seemed waaay too manic-depressive to be our master-'

'Ah, quit bein' paranoid Para..' Pain cut over him with a scowl.

'Oh you don't wanna go down that root with the boss, _believe me._' Panic flicked his wrist carelessly before adding a few more bits of basic information. At this point the sound of terrified screaming could be heard faintly from upstream.

'_YEEAAAAAAARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHH!.!_'

As all three imps' yellow eyes widened towards the source a shooting black boat-sized bullet skimmed like a stone across the surface of the Styx towards thee dock. As the speeding black gondola arrived at the dock Thanatos jammed both the oars into the Stygian mud and pushed his feet into the sides of the boat, using his immortal strength to stop the boat. This worked and the gondola jerked to a halt. Thanks to the shadow of Hercules' strength that still existed in his ghost-like form he had just enough to stop himself from catapulting into the Styx. Charon, who had been wrapped so tightly around the bow he could have almost fused with the boat itself had almost got winded by the front decorative curve of the boat.

'Here we are guys..' Thanatos sounded cheerfully, the only one unaffected by the speed of the boat. '-down the Styx in fifty-nine seconds, that's gotta be a record!' The godling stood up smirking proudly as the skeletal boatman peeled himself free from the boat and wobbled unsurely.

'_Urrhhhh_..' He rasped in a nauseous tone. 'I think I'm gonna be sick..' He then leant over the far side of the gondola and retched violently.

'Me too..' Hercules groaned in the same sickly tone, holding a hand towards his mouth. '-and I didn't even think dead guys could _feel_ nauseous.'

'Yup. Well. Ya learn somethin' new every day, don'tcha?' Thanatos sounded unconcerned as he stepped out onto the docks and turned his attention towards the imps. 'You two finished fillin' that thing out?'

'Almost your impatient juvenileness..' Pain replied cheerfully, momentarily forgetting that Thanatos hated butt-kissing but the godling didn't even spare him a flare up. Clearly the fact the godling had not been addressed in a whiny simpering tone had saved him.

'Alright hand it over..' Thanatos didn't wait, he snatched the clipboard out of Panic's grasp and eyed what they'd written. He then summoned a black bony quill and began scribbling in all the missing details before shoving the clipboard back towards the imps. 'Here. Now go get dad to sign it, pronto!' The clipboard seemed to jump about as Pain struggled to catch hold of it but once his claw-like fingers had a grip of it all three imps' eyes widened fearfully.

'You want us to go up there now?' Panic stuttered in a fearful tone as Paranoia looked two seconds away from passing out. Pain too looked like passing out would be the better option that disturbing Thanatos' parents.

'_Yes!_' Thanatos snapped furiously at their dimwittedness. He instantly bent down and seized all three imps by the tails. When the godling straightened again Pain daggled from the right as Paranoia and Panic dangled side-by side on the left. '_Zeus_ is gonna burst in here any second now _lookin_' for his son's soul and if my dad _hasn__'__t_ signed the bottom of this form by that time then it's game over.. _Gotit?.!_' All three nodded speechlessly as Thanatos flared momentarily nothing bout bone and fire before his skin returned.

'Good..' The God of Death-in-training threw them unceremoniously towards the floor and the clipboard skidded away. 'Now _get_ _movin__'__!_' As he flung a golden fireball towards them Pain swept up the clipboard and all three imps scooted back up the stairwell to the throne room.

'So you did plan my death..' The sound of Hercules' voice came from behind the godling and immediately Thanatos turned back towards the soul. The dead hero was scowling at him now.

'I had no choice.' Thanatos responded, folding his arms tightly across his chest. 'You intervened in a situation you were never meant to be in..' Behind them both Charon, who had finally stopped feeling queasy picked up his oar and pushed off from the jetty.

'I don't understand..' Hercules replied as his scowl softened into a curious-but-still-retaining-suspicions look.

'Aw, geez.' Thanatos gripped the bridge of his nose frustrated. '_You_ are Admetus' substitute.' For a moment the ghost of Hercules only stared at the godling in shock.

'No. I can't be..' Hercules sounded surprised.

'It should have been Askeles Herc, but you intervened.. You and daddy Zeus made the deal, remember? I pick the substitute… and I picked _you_.'

'Why?' The dead hero glared hatefully, curled his spectral fists though he could barely feel them touch.

'Because only a _true_ hero's soul is worth more to me than a monarch's..' Thanatos threw the spirit of Hercules a wide twisted smirk. 'Besides, ya gotta admit ya gotta thing for savin' people, right? Ya wouldn't _want_ anybody else to die for him now would ya?' Thanatos spat these words out and instantly Hercules angry face melted into a submissive and sorrowful look.

'No…' He replied with a heavy-hearted sigh, his shoulders sagged in defeat at this point. Thanatos was right. He would not want another innocent soul to die in his place.

'That's what I thought..' The God of Death-in-training grinned eerily at the beaten dead hero before turning away and walking up the stairs towards the throne room. Simply because he didn't know what he was supposed to do next Hercules followed the godling up the stairs in a silent manner, curious to see just how Hades would react to seeing his dead soul… this was once exactly what the God of the Dead wanted, but did he still feel the same way now?

* * *

'Your flamefulness..' The sound of Panic's simpering voice rang with a slight agitated edge to it as he shot into the room, closely followed by his two brothers. The sound of the imps' reappearance caused the large pupils of Hades' golden eyes to roll around just in time to see the three imps shoot into the room. Immediately his brows furrowed into a deep scowl, whatever work-related issue these idiots were here for he wasn't interested in it.

'We need you to sign this right away.' The chubby pink imp was holding onto a clipboard with a New Arrival form attached to it. As he ran towards the Underworld Rulers he tripped over his own foot and rolled into Panic who had been slightly in front. The green imp cried out in surprise as his twin brother fell into him and they both tumbled and tangled, the clipboard flying out of Pain's grip. Paranoia who had been tailing behind them widened his eyes in surprise as his brother's rolled across the stone tiled floor and smashed into the side of the chessboard. The tiny blue imp winced as his brothers groaned in agony before the clipboard flew down and cracked him on top of his head. Due to his tiny stature and light weight the clipboard knocked the needle-nosed imp to the floor where he grunted as stars came to his eyes.

While Persephone stared in surprise as the three imps groaned and pulled themselves shakily to there feet once more Hades' eyes narrowed at his minions.

'Do you think clumsiness is in their Delta Nu Alpha?' The Underworld Queen turned her green eyes to her husband with a mix of curiosity and concern.

'No.' The blue-flamed Lord of the Dead replied to his consort as he snapped his fingers causing the clipboard to vanish in a puff of smoke and appear in his large bony grip. 'But if stupidity did it would explain _a lot._' He concluded grimly then glancing at the title of the scroll attached to the tiny clipboard. Upon seeing it was a New Arrival Form the blue-flamed god skimmed straight to the bottom of the scroll without even looking at the soul's name and hurriedly scrawled his signature. He merely wanted the imps out of his sight and was not interested in finding out who the new arrival was, they were just another stiff to him right now. He was more concerned about his son at this very moment in time, the identity of the soul he'd learn later when he found out what his son was up to.

'Here..' Hades immediately thrust the clipboard back into the imp nearest him which was Panic. The imp took the board looking stunned by the fact that his boss had just signed the board and not looked at the soul's name, which should have generated some kind of response from their dark ruler.

'You didn't even look at the name of the soul..' The words escaped the slim green imp's mouth before he'd even acknowledged them. They caused Pain to slap a clawed-hand off of his face and the tiny blue-skinned Paranoia to dive behind his rotund brother's large frame.

'_So?_' Hades' aggressive tone came complete with slight orange flare up.

'D-don't you wanna know who this new guy is, your cantankerousness?' Pain stuttered nervously, despite his boss' mood he too couldn't understand why Hades had not looked at the name on the board.

'_Pfft_..' Hades snorted in response to this, his hair turning yellow and billowing as he did this. '-who cares, he's dead… he ain't goin' anywhere, is he?' The fiery god shrugged carelessly causing the three imps to exchange a look.

'Well, he's not anymore..' Panic replied in a hinted tone and his words caused both Hades and Persephone to exchange a look of confusion now. Clearly neither Underworld Ruler had a clue what the little green imp was on about.

'What's that supposed to mean?' The blonde goddess asked in bemusement as her husband's arm turned into a tendril of smoky vapour and reached forwards, snatching the clipboard back from the imps.

'Lemmie see that!' The golden-flamed Lord of the Dead snarled as his arm solidified once more with the clipboard in from of him so he and his wife could read the name. As Persephone saw the name of the soul written before her eyes she clapped a hand over her mouth, barely stifling the loud gasp of horror that had come out. Hades' eyes widened in shock at the name before him and for a split second his face only expressed his surprise at the name before him.

'Is this 'Hercules' as in Hercules the son of my most hated brother in all the cosmos?' The blue-skinned god asked in an amazingly calm voice as his eyes turned towards the three imps before him.

'Um… yeh. That a problem your improbably sane one?' Pain asked as a few beads of sweat rolled down his face and behind him Paranoia clung to his older brother more tighter, closing his eyes awaiting the detonation which would no doubt come.

At this response the angry tick in Hades' left eye began to twitch.

'Just checkin'..' He replied to the imps before immediately his skin and flames turned a nasty shade of red. At this point Persephone orbed the clipboard away from her husband so it only received minimal singe-damage before her white aura protected it. As the Queen of the Underworld stared with worry at her over-heated husband all three imps dived behind the chessboard. Hades was now on his feet surrounded by and furious red aura of heat and flames, the god sucked in an enormous gulp of air before bellowing with enough volume to shake the entire Underworld.

'_THAAAAAAANATOHHHHS!-!_'

* * *

The sound of her father's fury made Melinoe wince from inside her grandparents home. With Nyx and Erebus gone to do their godly duty of bringing in night and darkness the little goddess was alone with the three Fates. She'd heard her dad this furious before but never with her brother.

'Uh-oh, now you've gone and done it Than..' The pale-blue goddess sounded nervously as the tremors in the ground faded into nothing. Cackling sounded from where the three Fates were still seated with their Tapestry of Fate around them. Melinoe scowled deeply at them through her large green eyes, they were supposed to be Thanatos' guardians and mentors… surely they should be worried, not laughing at his expense?

'What's so funny?' The electric-blue-haired goddess spoke out in annoyance towards her aunts, climbing down from her grandfather's huge recliner and heading towards the three old crones.

'Nothing dear..' Clotho replied quickly, hastily trying to shield Melinoe from seeing the images in the glowing Eye of Fate.

'It didn't sound like nothing..' Melinoe glared at the blue-skinned Fate. 'What do you have planned for my brother?'

'Your brother knew the risks before he agreed to be a part of this..' Lachesis added before Atropos grabbed her by the nose and yanked her away.

'Quiet you idiot!' The eldest Fate snapped.

'So you _are_ planning something.' Melinoe's full blue lips twisted into a smug girly smirk, her green eyes narrowing towards her aunts.

'_Urrh_, you said too much!' Clotho hissed to her green-skinned sister who threw her back a sheepish smile complete with a shrug of the shoulders.

'So are you gonna tell me what's going on, or what?' Melinoe folded her arms tightly across her chest as her blue hair flickered irritably. She was throwing the Fates the kind of unamused scowl her father would usually wear.

'Well..' Lachesis sounded musingly before her sisters cut across her.

'Shut up you moron!' Clotho snapped over her.

'We can't reveal anything to her.' Atropos added.

'But she'll be the only one clueless..' Lachesis scowled back. 'Even Macaria's going to know what's going on, we can't send her home ignorant of the situation!' Atropos continued to glare at her sister but Clotho's look softened as she saw the reason behind it.

'She's gotta point sister..' The blue-skinned Fate added and Atropos growled irritably in the back of her throat. They'd always done things by majority, two overruling the other, and it wasn't often that she was out-voted but now it seemed she was going to be.

'_Fine_.' The short lilac-skinned Fate snapped sulkily before turning to Melinoe frowning seriously. 'We'll let you watch as the events unfold but you mustn't try to interfere, you got that?'

'I wouldn't even know how to..' Melinoe replied earnestly. Her brother had never told her anything about what he had learnt from these three goddesses so she had no knowledge of how they performed their duties. The eleven year-old goddess then took the empty space between Lachesis and Clotho as Atropos began fiddling with the threads on the tapestry. In the centre of this foursome the Eye of Fate floated as an image swirled before them…

* * *

'Zeus, where are you going now?' Demeter demanded angrily, her hands on her wide hips as her cornflower blue eyes glared at her brother.

'I'm going to do something I should have done a long time ago..' The tanned King of the Gods said in a low aggressive voice.

'What about your wife?' The green-skinned goddess snapped as Zeus grabbed the last of his thunderbolts and stomped back over the angry black cloud towards his nimbus parked on the edge of Olympus. The tanned god barely glanced in the direction of his lilac-skinned wife who was sobbing with Aphrodite, Hestia, Amphitrite and Poseidon around her. The Queen of the Gods was wailing into the Ruler of the Seas' shoulders as he stroked her hair sympathetically.

'She has others to comfort her.' His voice was cold as Zeus boarded his flying nimbus cloud.

'But she needs you!' Demeter snapped angrily, furious at how stubborn and bone-headed her brother could be. Even Hades wasn't this inconsiderate with her daughter.

'Well I need to see some _retribution!_' Zeus snarled angrily, his aura glaring violently. 'For too long I've been lenient with the Underworld, _but no more!_' His voice boomed furiously causing Demeter to gasp.

'You can't blame _my_ family for your son's death!' Demeter snarled furiously.

'Oh no?' The tanned god shot his sister a steely blue piercing glare. '_Watch me!_' Immediately Zeus' cloud shot off at top speed towards the Temple of Necromancy and the Goddess of Nature sighed helplessly, her head hanging slightly as she worried about her family.

'Grandma?' A little girly voice sounded nervously from nearby and Demeter turned to look into the scared odd eyes of her youngest grandchild. Macaria was in Hermes' arms with her arms around the little god's neck. The Messenger God too was looking a little strained by Zeus' sudden departure from Olympus.

'Are mommy and daddy gonna be in trouble?' The three year old blonde goddess continued to stare at her grandmother as her bottom lip wobbled nervously. She'd never seen her uncle Zeus so mad before, he'd always been nice to her.

'It certainly seems that way, doesn't it sweet-pea?' The green-skinned Nature Goddess replied gently, taking her granddaughter back from Hermes and hugging her tightly as worry continued to show on her face.

'I'm sure everything will turn out ok. If anybody knows how to handle a ragin' Big-Z it's Hades..' The tiny blue Messenger God sounded, trying to keep himself upbeat. Demeter turned to look at Hermes and threw him a grateful smile.

'I hope your right, Hermes..' She replied softly, stroking Macaria's baby-soft cheek.

* * *

'Someone bellowin' ma name?' The sound of Thanatos' voice made Persephone swivel around in horror as the three yellow eyes of the imps peaked up over the far edge of the chessboard. The thirteen year-old God of Death-in-training sauntered into the throne room and instantly Hades' golden eyes narrowed furiously towards his eldest child.

'_Why you schemin__'__ little.. SCHMEIL!-!_' The red-skinned Lord of the Dead practically choked on his own rage as he spat out these venomous words. Before his wife could even throw him a glance Hades launched himself towards his only son and seized the God of Death-in-training around the neck and began throttling him furiously as if he were just another mindless minion.

'_Ack__…__ IX I I!-! __…__AhhhcK!_' Thanatos coughed, barely able to breath as his father's huge bony wrist squeezed all the air out of his lungs. The godling's much smaller hands raised themselves upwards to his father's hands as the second one wrapped itself around his son's neck. Thanatos coughed and spluttered as he tried to pry his father off him but Hades was far too strong..

'_I__'__ll give you an IX I I!_' Hades roared furiously, right in his son's face and would probably have deafened him if his child wasn't immortal.

'I… _can__'__t_… breathe…' Thanatos spluttered, still struggling against his father.

'Hades let him go!' Persephone cried out in a alarm tone, her eyes wide with fear for her son.

'_Stay outta this Seph!_' Hades snarled angrily in response to his wife and immediately Persephone shrank back, not daring to make her husband even angrier than he was now. With no more interruptions Hades' attention returned to the child being strangled by his grip. '_Do you realise what you__'__ve just done.._' The red-flamed god reeled Thanatos in towards him as his murderous gaze continued to glare at his son. '_You__'__ve just given Mr Hey-You-Get-Offa-My-Cloud an excuse to get bolt-happy! WHY DIDJA HAVE TO GO AND KILL HIS BRAT!-!_'

Thanatos, who's face was turning a fetching shade of pink due to lack of air rasped incoherently in response causing Hades' grip to slacken just enough to let his son breathe.

'_What?_' The fiery god snarled in a low menacing tone.

'It was… his _destiny_..' Thanatos repeated in a rasping whisper as his lungs filled with air.

'_Don__'__t give me that excuse ya little-_' Hades' grip tightened on his son as he shook him violently, his flames spreading over his arms. It was clear that right now Hades saw Thanatos as nothing more than a disobedient minion in need of some punishment. And shockingly enough the God of Death-in training seemed to respond to this as he immediately let go of his father's grip, submitting to the God of the Dead's whims, allowing his father to throttle him violently.

'Hades.. _Stop!_' A new voice cried out, strong, commanding and very familiar to the red fiery god. Immediately Hades let go of his only son and Thanatos fell unceremoniously to the floor gasping and spluttering for breath. With his eyes watering Thanatos looked up to see the dead soul of Hercules standing there.

'It's not his fault..' The spirit of Hercules sounded as Hades, who had returned blue in shock at the appearance of the dead hero, stared at him in amazement. '-he only did what he had to do.'

'What are you talkin' about?' The blue-skinned god kinked a brow in confusion towards his dead nephew.

'You remember six months ago when you and dad made that little deal?' Hercules raised his ghostly brows upwards as he jogged his uncle's memory.

'What deal?' Persephone asked instantly, scowling in confusion between her husband and newly-deceased nephew.

'Deal..' Hades repeated dimly before the answer hit him like a ton of brimstone. 'You mean that _you__…__?_' The god's golden eyes widened in shock at this new revelation before a scowl reappeared on his face and he threw it towards his son. The God of Death-in-traing was still laying spread-angled on the floor, he had made no attempt at getting off the floor. 'I thought the goat-man was his substitute?'

'Substitute..? What deal are you talking about?' Persephone glared harder at her husband, irritated by the fact that once again she seemed to be missing a vital piece of information. However Hades didn't appear to be listening to her.

'I never said that Phil was the substitute.. You just assumed that on your own.' Thanatos replied, his voice still hoarse from the magnitude of strangling he had just endured.

'Then what were ya doin' with him when he arrived here?' Hades scowled harder at his son, confused as to why his son would follow in innocent soul across the Styx.

'He asked me to stay with him..' Thanatos responded in a tone suggesting that this was obvious. Hades let out a low disgruntled groan of repressed frustration with the situation, slapping his face as his flames burnt white brightly.

'_Rrrrr_… That doesn't change the fact that Bolt Boy's gonna arrive here any second-' Hades was immediately cut off by an ear-splittingly loud crack and a flash of white lightning, followed instantly by the booming voice of Zeus.

'_HADES! I__'__M HOME!-!_'

Everybody in the throne room swivelled their head in shock and surprise as Zeus' voice rang out from outside the House of Hades, clearly this god meant business. The only one not staring in the direction of Zeus' voice was the Lord of the Dead who fumed furiously at his brother's words.

'-and _steal my line!_' The fiery god snarled out angrily as his brother used the same line he had nearly eighteen years previously with the Titans…

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey peeps, I'm so sorry for the massive delay in updating this story. As you can see it's been a long and complicated chapter to get right and it has taken a little while to finalise all the details. I hope that it's long length makes up for my absence… enjoy!_

_Ok, firstly I feel the need to address the fact that poor Hermes has been used as target practise… He's probably the only god out of the pantheon who could match Thanatos in speed so it kind makes sense that Zeus would use him to train… but I still feel bad for the poor Messenger God._

_And I included the little Cerberus bit, not only because it was funny but because Cerberus has been missing for a while, I adore him! As well as Charon which is why he's back!_

_For all those who thought Hades hadn't had a hissy tantrum for a while I hope this chapter satisfies that craving… and don't worry, there's more of it coming up in the next chapter!_

_See ya soon… hopefully!_

_~Ditzy_


	57. Eyes on the 'Ultimate' Prize

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it__…__ I don__'__t own Disney__'__s Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me__…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it__'__s forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first__…__ Also, because constantly being asked the same questions is starting to grate me: please __don't rely on Greek Myths__, this is Disney and they twisted a lot of myths around, I have done the same and explanations can be found in my Little Notes sections in relative chaps… having said that though, some knowledge will kind of give you a small glimpse into where this fic is heading.._

_Little hint: if you haven__'__t read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder__…__ Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work__…_

…_enjoy x_

* * *

_**Review Replies:**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: I have been having soooo much trouble trying to write the interaction between Zeus and Hades here, it was driving me insane... I hope nobody is disappointed... X**_

_**KaiaUchiha1: I agree but Zeus' humour is probably the worst, a cruel irony isn't always the best way to punch someone. And yup, but this is a god who is very used to getting his way X**_

_**DiscordantPrincess: No! I love his hissy fits too! Personally Zeus is like a spoilt little kid, so I don't feel horrible… it's Hera I feel bad for! X**_

_**Dark Lord Ereshkigal: Thanks hun… it's been a while since I updated this! Well, half the answers to your questions are in this chapter… enjoy! X**_

_**BlackDiamond07: Ummm, another chap yet. This one centres around only five characters and nope, Hera is staying sane and grieving for her son on Olympus. X**_

_**Vikishus: Hahaha! Love That! X**_

_**DarkPriestessOfHyrule: Actually the TV series wrote that joke because of the myth of Orpheus so when I rewrote the myth I had Hades say 'think on it as a cruel irony' as a sort of joke-about-a-joke-thing! Hah! Finally! 32 chapters later somebody gets it! I'm so happy! XDDD And I'm so pleased you've caught up, I have no clue how long it would take to read 145 chapters spanning 3 full fics.. Wow, that's a lotta chaps! O_O …it actually hurts my head to think about it… And to be honest I don't mind mellow Hades or moody Hades but I have missed the ol' angry, scheming, wheeler-dealer god and thank Fates he's back! Though I'm not sure 'soft' is the right word for him as when he's nice he's still tricky.. he lies and hides things, schemes with his son behind his wife's back, tortures minions, belittles Macaria and pretty much neglects Melinoe: he's far from perfect! And to be honest, it really does need to be Zeus he blows up on, this confrontation is a long time coming… Hades had been downtrodden for many millennia by this god, always getting pushed further and further aside and even though he technically owns the Underworld he still has to answer to the 'Almighty' Lord of the Universe who basically acts like an overgrown spoilt brat! **_

_**Nyx27Seth: Hahaha! Zeus is a dick isn't he? And yeh, admittedly the part where he ditched Hera to chase Thanatos irritated me too, but he wouldn't be Zeus if he wasn't a thoughtless jerk. And thank you, that chapter was the most fun chap of the whole fic… a personal favourite! Its been some break but I'm back! X**_

_**DarkRissing: Uh, yup… a bit more of Hades and Zeus fighting here. And thank you, I was just curious as it seemed odd, but cool… keep it! X**_

_**Coldblue: Thank you. And here it is… three months late, but never mind X**_

_**Nasira: Ok, I'll apologise too. I didn't mean to get ratty but a constant stream of reviews doesn't help me write. I'm not holding anything against you as I'm far too lazy for that and I don't like bad karma, I'm not that kind of person. My only desire is to create so entertainment for people to enjoy freely. One review is enough, I have been suffering with writers block (hence the three-month absence). A little patience is all I ask X**_

_**I Luv Ur Stories: Honey, if you watch Disney's Hercules the Animated Series you will see that they actually named Hades the youngest, not me. So that small little issue with my fic you have is nothing to do with me… although I suggest you read some of Hesiod's oldest myths as they also state that Zeus is the oldest and first born child of Cronos (you spelt it correct) and Rhea and that the children were NOT swallowed but rather Poseidon was tossed into the sea and Hades was tossed into Tartarus and Zeus had to go on a massive quest to find his two brothers. I am pleased that you like the fic though, I have tried to correct many mistakes that Disney made but there are some I just can't erase. X**_

_**Connie Lange: I have no clue what that massive rant is about as it has nothing to do with my fic, I sort of imagine that you just needed to let off steam… I hope you get you TV back soon cause that was one long sentence! (Connie's parents: Hand it Back! For the Love of Hades Hand It Back!-!) You don't say what it is you did to have it taken off you but I imagine that your being punished for some misdeed, if I were you I'd just suck it up sweetie… sometimes parents can be complete dicks but they usually only have your best interests at heart. Hang in there kid! X**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

_Dedicated to: KaiaUchiha1 who has just graduated! Well done hun and good luck in your next move! This one's for you… X_

_My apologies for takin so long with this story..._

* * *

**Chapter Fifty-Seven:****Eyes On the 'Ultimate' Prize..**

'_Son of a Titan!_' Hades swore violently, his flaming hair turning and angry orange and flaring furiously. 'He does this to me every _freakin_' time!' His skin switched instantly to a nasty shade of red as his golden flames billowed furiously. His skin reluctantly returned blue while his flames continued to billow with badly-repressed fury. 'Whenever some mortal Zeus loves carks it he's on me like hummus on bread.. But it's like I keep _tellin_' him, once they're dead, they're dead, know what I'm sayin'. They all gotta go one day that's why their called _mortals_, ba-boom.' Hades pouted folding his arms stubbornly.

'Every time?' Hercules blinked confused, his father had come charging into the Underworld before?

'What? Did you think you were the only mortal son Zeus has ever had?' The yellow-flamed Lord of the Dead snorted with distain. '_Pfft_, hate to break it to ya Jerkules but your not!'

'So.. all those stories on Gaia's surface about dad having affairs were..' The spirit of Hercules looked almost crestfallen as he said these words, his voice almost breaking at the last word. '-_true?_'

'Well.. _Duhhhh!_' Hades drawled as his tongue lolled out as his eyelids narrowed with mock-disdain.

'Oh Chaos, you really don't know Zeus at all do you Hercules?' Persephone uttered in a dry tone of disbeleif. Immediately Hercules' ghostly baby blue eyes swivelled to the white-skinned immortal beauty with long golden blonde hair and piercing green eyes. The Goddess of Life was throwing him a withering look. 'He's been fooling around with other women for centuries..' She then placed a black-painted nail to her cherry lips and frowned slightly, remembering whisperings of gossip Hermes had told her. 'At least I hope they're all just women..' She added as an afterthought which caused Hades to give a shiver, he really did not want to know what his biological brother got up to.

'Does mother know?' Hercules asked in a tentative tone.

'Does Hera know about Zeus' affairs?' Hades kinked a brow in incredulity at his dead nephew. He actually couldn't believe what he was hearing. 'Whatta ya kiddin' me? Like all wives she hones in on her husband's racket.. His business is her business! Of course Hera knows! Why do ya think they fight all the friggin' time! Geez Louise, it's like round two of the Titan War when those two are at it..'

'Whoa, whoa…' Thanatos suddenly declared. 'We're kinda slidin' off track here people. We got an angry Zeus about to smash our doorstep with, like, a zillion thunderbolts because he thinks throwin' his toys out the crib is gonna get him his dead son back..' The golden-flamed godling picked himself up off the floor. 'Let's focus on the main issue here.'

'Well Bolt Boy can fling all the teddy bolts he wants outta his crib because he ain't getting one of my dead souls!' Hades snarled angrily, his flames blazing over his shoulders. 'Not now. Not _ever!_'

'Not even if the price is right?' Thanatos instantly chimed in with a wide secretive smirk which proved that something was cooking in the back of his dreadful mind. The fiery Lord of the Dead instantly turned his gaze to his son to see a sneaky look etched on every handsomely boyish feature.

'_Hmmm_…' Hades mused seriously over his sons words, trying to imagine what sort of prize he could use Hercules to trade for. '-he'd have to give me something _really_ worth my while..'

'You mean like..' Thanatos immediately stepped up to his father and yanked on the single shoulder-strap of his black toga, tugging his father's ear down to his level and whispering the last of the sentence in his ear. Persephone blinked in bemusement while Hercules floated confused on the opposite side of the room.

'What? Get outta here. He's not gonna give me that..' Hades snorted dismissively at his son's idea before straightening. Seconds later, once the idea had firmly digested inside his head, his golden eyes blinked remembering his eldest child was omniscient. 'Is he?' The golden-flamed Lord of the Dead could not deny that what Thanatos had suggested was the ultimate prize. It would mean no more bossy older brother sticking his oar into his business ever again…

'I dunno..' Thanatos shrugged. 'How desperate do ya think he is to get his son back?'

'Well he's bargin' his way in here so he's gotta be pretty desperate..' Hades replied scratching his long chin thoughtfully.

'Exactly.. and ain't exploitin' desperate souls for stuff kinda your whole shtick dad?' The teenage God of Death-in-training asked his father and this made the yellow-flamed god grin a sinister grin. 'Whatta ya say, huh? Think your up to the task of manipulatin' the Big Cheese himself into handin' over the _ultimate_ prize..' The golden-flamed teenager's eyes narrowed even more deviously and immediately Persephone made a sudden noise of understanding as she caught onto the meaning of the conversation. She knew what Hades' ultimate prize was, what he desired most in the entire cosmos..

'If anyone can do this it's you sweetie..' The Queen of the Dead instantly threw her husband a crafty girly smirk along with these words of encouragement. She, like her son had complete faith in her husband's manipulative skills and quick tongue. Hercules on the other hand still had absolutely no idea what anyone was talking about, the only thing he seemed to follow was that he was about to become some kind of bargaining chip in what must be the shadiest deal ever to hit the cosmos.

At this point a strong new voice filled the throne room, angry, upset… and female..

'_HADES!-!_'

'Aye-yi-yi… What am I? Mr Popularity today?' The Lord of the Dead sighed heavily as the voice screeched out once more.

'_I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME YOU SON OF A TITAN! YOU GET YOU BLUE-FLAMED ASS UP HERE RIGHT NOW I NEED TO TALK TO YOU!-!_'

'Meg?' The soul of Hercules sounded in surprise, his ghostly eyes travelling to the ceiling. His wife must be inside the Temple of Necromancy directly above them on the surface.

'What the Tartarus is _she_ doing here!' Thanatos' flames rippled with irritation, his finger jabbing up towards the surface.

'She probably wants to cut me a new deal..' Hades sighed heavily to his son before inwardly groaning and pinching his nose, one pupil then rolled up to the ceiling. 'Oy, Nut-Meg… now really is not a good time..'

'It's ok, it's ok..' Persephone sounded, getting up from the throne. 'I'm the Queen of the Dead, right? You boys just stay here and deal with Sergeant Lightning Strike, I will go and deal with Little Miss Prickly Pear upstairs..' The goddess then winked at the guys in the room before vanishing out into a swirl of orbs that rose and vanished up through the circular hole in the throne room.

'Love ya..' Hades called out with a smirk before it turned into a depraved leer as his head snapped back to his son. 'Alright brat, it's just you and me now. From this point out I am gonna need you to do _exactly_ as I say..'

'I'm with ya all the way dad..' Thanatos replied seriously.

'Then brace yourself kid, things are about to ugly..' Hades turned his eyes towards the huge circular window, bracing himself for the inevitable second that Zeus would arrive for their _final_ sparring session..

* * *

'_HADES!_' Meg screeched, hot tears rolling down her face as her desperate cry filled the gloomy temple, echoing off the walls eerily. She pushed her soaking wet hair out of her face. The heavy rain could still be heard lashing down outside while Pegasus was sheltering in the entrance. Meg shivered slightly cold, her wet chiton clinging to her drenched body but she didn't care, she merely padded gently inside the creepy dark temple. The statues of the Rulers of the Dead staring down at her like the cold and lifeless stone they were. Immediately the middle-aged brunette slumped onto the ground between the two huge statues with a wet slap, almost prostrating herself to them as her tears hit the black-tiled ground. She had flown here on Pegasus, making a detour to Thrace to drop the two teenagers off in the villa before steering the winged-horse towards the only temple of Hades and Persephone. She had a huge mix of emotions running through her: grief, hollowness, fear and desperation. Meg had no idea how she would cope without her husband and simply because she didn't know any other deity who would understand her pain, she had come here in the hopes Hades may take pity on her and maybe make her a new deal..

'Why won't you answer me?' The willowy brunette sobbed gently into the tiles, her watery high ponytail stuck to her back and leaking out more water which formed a slight pool around her..

'I'm sorry, he's busy hon. Will I do instead?' A soft girly voice filled with sympathy came from directly above her causing Meg's huge tear-filled eyes to look up and see a sixteen-year-old-looking blonde goddess with skin whiter than snow and gentle wide green eyes. Meg gasped out in shock and scrambled to her knees, pulling her saturated high ponytail into her fingers and combing her hideously matted locks.

'Persephone..' She murmured in a quiet voice filled with awe. She'd never seen Hades' wife in person before but she'd heard she was stunning, she'd have to be to turn Hades' flaming head, but she had not expected her to look so young. She looked only a few years older than Hyllos and Iole and the idea of a beautiful goddess like her with an old gargoyle like Hades was hard to picture.

'Where's Hades?' Meg asked bluntly, her voice coming out stronger than she felt right now.

'He's having to deal with an enraged Zeus right now..' Persephone replied, her green eyes narrowing as her mouth twitched with worry at the thought. Meg's violet eyes widened in shock at these words, she had completely forgotten about Hercules' godly parents.

'Zeus is in the Underworld?' Meg sounded amazed. Hercules' biological father must be really upset if he had actually come down from Olympus to speak to Hades.

'Yeh…' Persephone sighed heavily. 'Apparently our son reaping the soul of his son is a big button pusher, go figure huh?' Although her voice was light it was clear to the mortal woman before her that the goddess was nervous about what was going to happen next.

'Your son killed Hercules?' Meg gasped, her dainty fingers covering her mouth. She'd thought it was Hades, she didn't even know the Underworld couple had children as there was nothing on the crockery about that. Her violet eyes closed once more as she stifled a sob though fresh tears formed as she shivered.

'No sweetie, the sacrificial pyre killed your husband my son merely reaped his soul..' The blonde goddess sounded gently, sympathy welling in her eyes towards the mortal before her. Mortals always seemed to think her son was a killer but that just wasn't true… or at least so Persephone believed as she was unaware of the full gory details.

'Oh..' Meg sobbed, finally wiping her tears from her face, smearing her make-up worse than the rain ever could. 'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you..' She uttered, rubbing her forearms now as the cool temperature in the temple was causing her skin to prickle with goosebumps. Persephone noticed this and immediately caused the nearest blue flamed lantern to billow upwards and turn a warm golden colour which both lightened the gloomy temple and warmed the mortal woman. Meg gave her a breif but grateful smile before a sense of urgency crossed her eyes and she scrambled forwards, clutching the hem of Persephone's soft black skirt.

'Hur-Hercules..' She suddenly gasped out desperate once more, clearly thinking that if she couldn't ask Hades she'd ask his wife instead. 'Is he ok?'

'He's..' Persephone tailed off, not sure exactly how much she should really tell this mortal woman. '-coping. He's with Hades right now..' She eventually finished. Meg seemed to sigh, her shoulders sagging as she kept a hold of the goddess' dress. It was almost as if she feared the goddess would leave her if she let go.

'Of course he is..' The brunette uttered as her eyes narrowed momentarily. 'Can I see him? I need to talk to him one last time… I never got to say _goodbye_..' This last word made her voice crack with the emotional strain of it all, tears forming once more.

'I'm sorry but right now that's impossible..' Persephone replied almost regretfully as she understood this kind of pain all too well. 'Seeing him or even talking to him will just keep him alive. Perhaps once you've had time to grieve he will find a way to speak to you. Souls are quite clever that way, just because they are inside the Underworld doesn't mean they won't try to come back. Some have been known to stumble into Hypnos' realm and contact their loved ones through dreams..' She smiled slightly, remembering the last time Hypnos had sent little Phobetor across the Styx with some estranged souls. With the Nether Regions being right on the doorstep of the Land of the Dead it was not surprising that souls sometimes crossed the divide between Underworld realms.

'You really think he will try to contact me?' Meg blinked, she seemed doubtful.

'Who knows, the Underworld is a strange place, anything can happen..' Persephone shrugged with a slight smile. 'But I do know he'll only make contact if you believe in it..'

'_Urh_… don't give me that story-myth crap.' Meg snorted, finally sounding a little like her normal self. 'I don't have anything let to believe in, my husband is dead..' She scowled and let go of the goddess' black chiton, folding her arms tightly and turning her head away.

'I might know a little imp who could help you out there..' Persephone sounded in an enticing voice. 'But if I do this for you, you must do something for me..' She said and Meg rolled her violet eyes.

'Oh yeh, here it comes, you don't get something for nothing.' The brunette uttered dryly under her breath, Persephone was behaving like her husband. But just because she was curious to see what it was Meg, begrudgingly, turned back to Persephone. 'What's that?' The brunette sounded in a louder voice so the blonde goddess could hear her.

'I want you to go home.' Persephone said lightly. 'Go home and take care of your son, he needs you right now..'

'That's it?' Meg blinked in surprise… ok, so she wasn't like Hades at all.

'That's it, I promise.' Persephone smiled sweetly at the mortal in front of her. She was the Goddess of Life, she rarely wanted a soul to do anything other than live their life. Before Meg could say or do anything the Goddess of Life turned back to the closed stone doorway to the Underworld.

'_Hope!_' She called out. 'Would you come here a moment sweetie..' There was a split second of silence as Persephone's voice echoed before a puff of soft pink shimmers appeared and a tiny little pink imp with big blue eyes arrived.

'You called my queen..' Her tiny voice sounded in an adorably high female voice as little Hope curtsied politely.

'Holy Hera you're a _girl!_' Meg blurted out thoughtlessly, interrupting and causing Hope's blue eyes to turn to her slightly startled by the outburst.

'Yes..' The little imp squeaked as she scurried closer to Persephone, having never been face-to-face with a mortal before she was very timid.

'Sorry, it's just I've never seen a girl imp before, I thought they were all guys..' Meg sounded, feeling bad for scaring the impette who obviously didn't leave the Underworld much.

'Hope is the only girl imp besides her mother Lamia.' Persephone interrupted at this point, bringing the focus back to her. 'Hope, this is Meg and I asked you to come here because her heart is cold..' The goddess sounded in such a syrupy voice that Meg thought she'd heave.

'Oh no!' Hope squealed out horrified, clapping her itsy hands to her mouth appalled as though this idea was the most horrific thing she'd ever heard. 'That's so sad. Doesn't she have any faith?' The tiny girl imp suddenly chirruped sweetly turning around and Meg sighed as Persephone shook her head.

'Oh great..' The mortal uttered in a soft tone, as if this tiny imp was going to solve all her problems. The next second the tiny imp blew the mortal woman a kiss which caused a shimmer of soft pink to leave her minuscule lips and hit Meg right in the chest. For a split second the middle-aged brunette glowed a pale pink before it dimmed to normal once more. For a moment Meg felt nothing before an inexplicable leap came to her heart with a fussy feeling that she used to get when she was safe with her husband. Immediately his face swam in her mind and she sighed. This was Hercules… if anybody could find a way to contact her from the dead it was him, her perfect Hercules.. When she opened her eyes again she was alone in the temple with nobody but the two statutes of the Underworld Rulers. Immediately she picked herself off of the floor, pulling her wet chiton away from her legs before her eyes turned to look at the statute of Persephone. There was still the pain of loss shining in her face but there was something else there too… like a tiny glimmer of hope for the future..

'Thank you.' Meg sounded gently to the black stone likeness of the Goddess of Life then she immediately turned away, heading out towards Pegasus..

* * *

'_I warned you Hades__…_' Zeus declared furiously, his aura lit up the entire throne room. He had appeared in the room only moments after Persephone had gone to deal with Meg. He was already pointing a glowing thunderbolt at his little brother as Hades grinned nervously, shielding Thanatos behind him so at least his son was safe from attack… for now. '_I have put up with your attempts to usurp me, your constant hatred and open taunts for long enough__…__ now you and that little__…_' Zeus' fierce blue eyes glared at Thanatos from over his father's shoulder as he considered what name to call him. '_-miscreant of yours have gone too far! Was I not lenient with you over the whole Titan mess!_' Zeus roared out furiously.

'_Lenient!_' Hades suddenly hit back, his flames flaring it's nastiest shade and billowing out. They pushed Thanatos backwards and the God of Death-in-training skidded back to where the spirit of Hercules was stood. '_You.. _brother, were _not __'_lenient' at all! You put me through some bogus trial for your own amusement then banished me from Olympus!'

'_I could__'__ve locked you away in Tartarus for what you did!_' Zeus seethed furiously.

'Yeh, well… too late now _Bolt_ Boy!' Hades snapped angrily a fireball forming in his shaking red-skinned fist.

'Give me back my son..' Zeus' voice lowered as his eyes narrowed hatefully.

'_Uhh_… No. Not gonna happen.' Hades sounded in an immature fashion, folding his arms tightly like a stubborn child and snuffing the fireball in his hand. 'In case you missed the fine print of the Cosmic Contract, Jack… he is dead which means he is, to put it bluntly, _mine_.'

'_I__'__m the Lord of the Universe!_' Zeus roared out, raising his lightning bolt threateningly.

'_And I__'__m the Lord of the Dead!_' Hades raised his voice to an equal tone. '_It__'__s about damn time you realised that!_' Flames covering his whole body now so it was hard to make him out amongst them. '_I say what goes on down here, not you! Hercules stays here with all the other dead guys.. Where. He. Belongs!_' Immediately Hades turned to his son who had merely been gawping stupidly at his father… not even he would dare argue with his father when he was this mad. '_Thanatos!_ _Throw him in the vortex!_' The fiery god declared in a loud furious and commanding voice.

'Aye, aye sir..' Thanatos saluted before grabbing Hercules, who'd been staring dumbstruck by these to titan-like gods arguing, and yanked him through the doorway to the Vortex of Fire.

'Hercules..' Zeus sounded, momentarily forgetting his anger as fear replaced it. He moved to follow but a huge inferno-covered hand solidly blocked him.

'_Ah, ah, ah.._' Hades sounded, still nothing but head-to-toe in furious flames. '_Where do ya think you're going?_'

'To. Get. My. Son. Back..' Zeus hissed wrathfully through gritted teeth.

'_You really want your dead kid back that badly, Zeus?_' Hades' voice seethed in a low tone, his flames dying back to reveal the angry God of the Dead. '_Cause if you ever want to see that kid again I__'__m gonna need something only you can give me…_' Hades' eyes narrowed evilly and Zeus sighed. Punching the living snot out of Hades had never worked before, the fiery god was a fast healer and he was surprisingly resilient… obviously the centuries had given him time for his resentment to fester and the only way to end it was to actually listen to his little brother.

'What is it you want Hades..' Zeus sounded reluctantly, lowering his thunderbolt.

'I wanna cut you a _very_ special deal Zeus..'

* * *

Meanwhile Thanatos shot through the opening of the huge cavernous room that housed the glowing acid-green waters of the Vortex of Fire and hovered high above the swirling vortex. He then dropped the spirit of Hercules so that he fell dead into the centre of it with a loud scream.

'Bon voyage, Dorkules..' The fiery teenage god cackled in amusement before shooting back towards the throne room to see what his father had up his sleave.

'_AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!-!_' The dead soul of Hercules screeched as he hurtled right through the centre, splashing into the vortex quite low down in the circular wall of water with a fiery hiss. Quite the contrary to what living mortals thought these fires did not burn flesh or souls. What they did was burn the sins away from souls to purify them before the inevitable dip in the Pool of Lethe at the bottom of the Phlegethon Waterfall. At this instant realisation of what was going to happen when he finally hit the waters at the bottom of the impending waterfall Hercules panicked, trying to swim backwards. This was to no anvil as the water current was spinning too fast, he was being sucked down into a drain-like suction. With a watery cry of dismay the dead soul of Hercules closed his eyes and thought about his wife, he may as well give in to fate… goodbye sweet memories..

Without much of a pause the soul careened over the edge of the massive Phlegethon Waterfall and plummeted down, down, down towards the Pool of Lethe. But amazingly before he could hit the waters that would wipe his memories clean he was snagged by some huge web of ropes. Gingerly opening his eyes Hercules found himself surrounded by a net. Immediately this net swung around towards the sandy beach by the pool edge and Hercules was tipped out onto the shore of the Grove of Lethe. Looking up at his saviour the dead soul of Hercules did a double-take.

'Persephone!' He gasped out as he saw the Goddess of Life standing beside him with a huge soul-catching-net.

'I figured it was only a matter of time before Hades decided to have you thrown into the vortex and get you out the way.' The white-skinned goddess smiled warmly as the net in her hands vanished into white swirling orbs, returning to its home with the rest of the pool cleaning equipment.

'But why did you save me?' He asked confused. He had felt no pain or discomfort when he'd landed and now he was floating upright once more.

'Because something tells me you'll be needing your memories..' The goddess sounded said lightly. Her green eyes then turned to the rear of the House of Hades, which looked so different from its skull-shaped front. It too, resembled a skull but this time it was one that was half-embedded into rock face. Only two huge circular windows, a brow and the bridge of a nose was clear, the rest was indistinct rock face that curved around the Grove of Lethe. The house was quiet now. No shouting or voice raising of any kind could be heard from inside… Zeus and Hades were clearly talking.

'Why is it so quiet?' Hercules asked confused. When he'd left the throne room moments ago the two immortal brothers were in the middle of a blazing row.

'They must be working out a deal..' Persephone sounded gently, worry was still shining in her face.

'Is that why you saved me? So that Hades had something to bargain with?' The dead hero asked her and Persephone turned with a small smile.

'Well, you wouldn't be much use to anybody without any memories, would you?' The goddess replied with a knowing girly smirk. Hercules' ghostly mouth twitched. He couldn't argue with her logic.

'So what do we do now?' The spirit of Hercules asked her unsurely.

'We wait..' The Queen of the Underworld replied simply, her hands went to her hips and her hip jutted out as her green eyes remained fixed on the huge circular windows.

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey everybody! I am so sorry! I have had serious writers block for ages… I'm so sorry but it's here and hopefully you'll forgive me! I hope I did surprise some folk with this chapter, those who were hoping for a big fireball and lightning fight will be disappointed but that was what was killing my mind. I couldn't write it, I needed Hades to be in control of the whole situation with him and Zeus so a small amount of blackmail and a dodgy deal seemed more his style! You'll just have to settle with a shouting match instead.._

_Ok, ok, I did write two slight swears in this chapter but they seemed appropriate in the moments… but hey, sue me, that's why it's a T-rated fic.. It covers the boundaries. I don't really condone swearing in fics (which is ironic because I do swear a bit in reality).. I honestly don't think they make that much of an impact in fics unless their being used to vent fury, it's like you read it and think: 'yeh, it's there what's your point?'.._

_Can you believe it people? Until this chapter Persephone and Meg have never met! It's crazy… it never actually occurred to me before when writing this fic. Though it would seem that Persephone is a little more informed about Meg than she is of the goddess (no doubt best buddy Hermes has been telling her things).. I wanted to stay honest and true to surface myths so even though Meg was no doubt aware of a God of Death (since her husband 'wrestled' the soul of Askeles from him, or so the mortals say) she didn't know that he was a son of Hades until Persephone revealed it to her.. I guess Hercules never did tell her the full story (no doubt wanting to spare her from realising he'd been dealing with Hades again).. Since I tend to follow actual Greek Mythology for 'surface myths' in this fic it can clearly be established that she, the rest of Greece, and those annoying few reviewers that like to point it out to me, think Thanatos is a son of Nyx while Hercules, and those entered into the Eleusinian Mysteries would discover the real truth.. That Thanatos (the God of Death) and Brimos (the Indestructible God) are one and the same. Sometimes my own cleverness surprises even me! _

_What is it that Hades really wants from Zeus? Feel free to take a guess but the answer will be in the next chapter!_

_Stay tuned… and hopefully it won't take another three months to write!_

_~Ditzy X_


	58. No Negotiations with the Lord ofthe Dead

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it, I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me._

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from its forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first. Also, because constantly being asked the same questions is starting to grate me: please __don't rely on Greek Myths__, this is Disney and they twisted a lot of myths around, I have done the same and explanations can be found in my Little Notes sections in relative chaps having said that though, some knowledge will kind of give you a small glimpse into where this fic is heading.._

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder, Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work._

…_Enjoy x_

* * *

_**Review Replies:**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: I know, I know… I'm starting to understand why it takes you so long to finish a chapter. I guess since this fic is almost over I'm having trouble letting go and the writing time is expanding because of it. And thank you. I'm so glad that somebody liked Seph and Meg's interaction, that's exactly what I was going for! X**_

_**KaiaUchiha1: Your welcome hun! I wish you luck in the future and can't wait to see your new fic, let me know when it's posted! X**_

_**Xitan22: Thank you hun, I'm so glad that you're enjoying it. Here's a new chap! Enjoy! X**_

_**Wonderwomanbatmanfan: Thanks! Here's the update! X **_

_**Dark Lord Ereshkigal: Yeh, my apologies for the length of time it's taking to write chapters, I guess now that I'm near the end I'm having a hard time finishing this fic as I've been working on it for so long. I know you were hoping for some strong fire-conflict but I'm so glad you're enjoying the war of words! There's more of it in this chapter. What Hades wants is in this chapter hun, is it what you expected? X**_

_**Sakuranoryuu: Ok, in answer to your rant. Meg clearly didn't know Persephone was in the picture. In the series Adonis was portrayed as a sleazy, arrogant prince who chatted up any girl he thought was beautiful despite the fact that he was supposedly dating Helen of Troy. However, the way I see it is; since Adonis was always aware of how handsome he was he was never short of girlfriends and always left one for another. He dated Helen in the series and then afterwards moved onto Persephone. He then ditched Persephone for Meg (pissing the goddess off in the process), he then ditched Meg for a mystery woman (probably the imps in disguise) and landed Meg in debt to Hades. You obviously missed the part in P.o.P where Persephone didn't blame Meg for Adonis' mistake, something she obviously inherited from Demeter because she was a goddess who punished men rather than women, something that was unusual in Ancient Greek times. I'm glad you like the stories and believe me, you won't be the only one who's sad when it's finished, trust me. X**_

_**Vikishus: Mmmm… Hades' biggest fan is back! XDDD**_

_**DarkPriestessOfHyrule: Yeh, poor Herc but it was an unfortunate plot necessity to make this story work. After all, you can't write a fic about death without one of the most important characters learning a lesson, namely you can't avoid the inevitable. But the story will pick up for the finale, I promise. X**_

_**Nyx27Seth: I ADORE Hope! She's one of my favourite imps next to Paranoia of course! There's more of her in this chap too! And Persephone isn't a mean, nasty goddess; she's like the sensitive and caring counterpart to Hades' cynical and unemotional attitude to mortals. And Hercules is so naïve in both the film and show that I figured he wouldn't believe the crockery when he saw it. And 'Dorkules' I sort of came up with on the spot because I didn't want Thanatos copying other names that Hercules gets called. And yeh, that 'Titan War' joke was both mocking myth of Zeus and Hera's arguing and the war with the Titans! X **_

_**DarkRissing: Ooh! Your guesses are so good but here's the answer! Is it what you thought? Read on and find out! X**_

_**Wolfie'sBiggestFan: Well, yeh but that's only part of the issue, this chapter should clear everything up hun! Good guess work! X**_

_**Angelvan105: I'm glad you've caught up and still loving the story! Wow… I don't know what it is but I'm always surprised when people think Thanatos is evil. He's definitely not good but I never thought of him as evil… as for where he gets 'it' from. I think it's a little to do with Hades' influence as a father but mostly it's both the traumatic experience of what happened with Sisyphus and the resentment he received from Zeus. Thanatos is exactly what the universe has made him. You're a little off base with the Olympus guess but this chap will answer all those questions. X**_

_**Coldblue: Your welcome honey! Here's another update! X**_

_**Guest: Great, here's some more for you! X**_

_** Mythical-lover-pr: I always thought that Hades was a funny guy, I'm glad to see I'm writing something right! And me too! We're another chap closer to the end! X**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

_Dedicated to: Everybody who's still reading and reviewing this! Your all stars and I love you all! X_

* * *

**Chapter Fifty-Eight:****No Negotiations with the Lord of the Dead**

The tension between the golden-tanned Lord of Olympus and the still yellow-flamed Lord of the Underworld crackled angrily like sparks of fire as the two gods glared at each other from either side of the incredibly long stone-table. They had moved into the boardroom next door to the throne room where Hades did the vast majority of his deals and other important business affairs. While Hades' golden eyes and large pupils bored into Zeus from the opposite side of the table looking down at a scroll of paper with lines and lines of Hades' neatest hand-writing. It was a contract, plain and simple and his fiery little brother had whipped it in record time.

'What's this for?' The golden-tanned god asked, not bothering to read the scroll, instead his sky blue eyes looked up towards Hades and the fiery god's yellow eyes narrowed further from the opposite side of the table.

'Those are my terms, _Bolt_ Boy. I suggest you read them if you ever want to see your little _sunspot_ again.' His voice was stern and lacked any kind of emotion; Hades wasn't going to waste them on the jock-like god who had spent most of the majority of his rule humiliating him every chance he got. Now, _finally_, the sandal was on the other foot and he was holding all the cards. Zeus glared at his little brother before his eyes returned to the scroll with indistinct irritable muttering. Hades couldn't supress the slight gleeful grin that twisted on his full blue lips as he folded his arms, watching as the golden-tanned god began to read the contract. The sound of movement from the doorway leading to the throne room made the fiery god turn his eyes away from Zeus to see Thanatos standing in the doorway.

'What're you_ doin'_ here?' Hades glared at his eldest child with annoyance and a hint of panic. Thanatos wasn't supposed to bail on his cousin's soul, he was supposed to go with him and prevent him from touching the Pool of Lethe. But most of all this was supposed to keep him out of Zeus' sight! The kid was omniscient he should've known this…

'_Re_-lax dad..' The golden-flamed thirteen waved his hand with a confident, lazy smirk. '-mom was in the Grove of Lethe when I tossed him in.' He casually checked his nails before looking back at his still slightly ticked father. '_So…_ how's everythin' goin' here? Good?'

'_You!-!_' Zeus suddenly declared in a loud irate voice. Scowling the moment he looked up from the scroll in front of him to see his subterranean nephew, his aura flaring hatefully at the fiery teen. Amazingly Thanatos didn't flinch; instead he merely turned away from his father and nodded in the Lord of Olympus' direction.

'It's nice to see you too, Uncle Zee-_ack!-!_' Thanatos drawled casually before finding himself yanked by the neck of the robes by Hades as the Lord of the Dead flung his son roughly behind him. Thanatos staggered backwards at the force of his father's hand and barely managed to readjust his footing in order to stand straight again.

'_When I get a hold of your scrawny little neck I'll.._' Zeus was uttering in a low furious voice, abandoning the scroll in front of him

'He's not your concern!' Hades snarled venomously, the tips of his fingers glowing hot as a fireball threatened to appear in them.

'_He killed my son!_' The golden-tanned god roared. '_Stand aside so I can punish him!_' Hades instantly dug his finger into his ear and wiggled it around to get rid of the ringing that the volume of Zeus' voice had left. The force of breath coming from the god had also caused the God of the Dead's flames to blow out.

'Alright, lemmie just stop ya right there Zeus and remind ya of two things, ok?' The now-bald Lord of the Dead sounded in a ticked off fashion. 'Alpha; this is _my_ realm! I'm the _numero uno god_ down here, only I do the punishing!' He raised one long finger towards his 'biological' brother before a second finger lifted as he continued. 'And beta; I'm the only god in the cosmos that can _give you_ your son, do you really think hassling _my_ kid is gonna help you convince me to let him go!' At this point Hades' annoyance at his older brother caused the flames on his head to burst forth from his bald cranium burning a bright, luminous blue. The two brothers glared fiercely at each other, the prickling tension sparking dangerously once more. For a long moment they glared at each other before Zeus sighed and turned away, picking up the scroll again and skimming over the details.

'And, _you!_' Hades hissed grabbing his teenage son by his white-pointed ear and causing Thanatos to wince in pain. 'Just stay behind me and don't talk or move unless I tell ya to, think you can handle that?' The Lord of the Underworld let go of Thanatos' ear and immediately the adolescent god rubbed it causing his flaming hair to spark. '_Than!_' Hades growled in a low voice when his son failed to respond.

'_Yes! Yes!_ I got the concept! _Sheesh…_' Thanatos rolled his eyes in a petulant manner of impatience before standing at the right side of his father's long-backed solid stone conference seat at the head of the long table. The blue-flamed Lord of the Dead then took his seat and leaned one elbow on the stone armrest and rubbed his long chin, waiting for Zeus' reaction to his 'terms'.

Thankfully, he didn't have to wait long…

'You're insane!' Zeus suddenly cried out, his sky-blue eyes widening as he finally read what it was Hades was demanding in exchange for Hercules' soul. 'I can't give you that!'

'Well then, I think you and I are gonna have a problem…' Hades drawled back casually as Thanatos stood by his father's side with both hands behind his back looking like a loyal sentry waiting for orders.

* * *

'How long do you think they will be?' The soul of Hercules swirled around to face the white-skinned Queen of the Underworld. His ghostly pale-blue face expressed nothing but anxiety now as the House of Hades had had been silent for what felt like eternity.

'Only the Fates know for sure.' Persephone responded gently, her dead nephew's anxiousness starting to make her insecure. The blonde goddess then glanced around to the two cypress trees marking the entrance of the grove from the river Styx as if expecting something to come through it at any moment. 'Just try to have a little patience, ok?' The Goddess of Life added in a gentle voice, hoping to sooth the soul who had now resumed floating back and forth in an impatient manner… _Where are they?_ Her brow knitted in concern. Before coming to the Grove of Lethe Persephone had asked Hope to go and retrieve someone very special from the Elysian Fields but they had not arrived yet.

'I'm _trying!_' Hercules sounded with exasperation before sighing heavily, stopping and floating on the spot, hanging his head. 'It's just hard.'

'I know it is, _believe me!_' Persephone replied, rubbing her head with her dainty white fingers. 'I don't like this any more than you do.'

'Miss Persephone. Miss Persephone.' A tiny, high-pitched voice cried out happily causing both the Queen of the Underworld and the dead soul of Hercules to look around just in time to see Hope scurry up the path towards them. 'I brought him just as you asked me to.'

'Well, where is he then?' The blonde goddess asked in confusion, looking around behind the tiny pink imp for whoever was meant to be with her.

'I'm right here your majesty.' The sound of a painfully familiar voice made Hercules gasp and the next second a ghostly satyr appeared inside the grove. 'Although, I gotta say, I'm not sure as to why you would summon me to meet you he- ' Immediately the satyr broke off, his ghostly deep purple eyes widening as he gazed in surprise at the soul drifting beside the goddess who'd summoned him. '_Holy Frijoles! _Herc, is that you kid?' He suddenly looked sad to see his greatest student dead before him.

'_Phil!_' Hercules sounded with a wide smile, clearly pleased to see his old mentor again. Instantly the hero's dead soul swooped over and scooped up the once gruff goatman and hugged him tight. 'I'm so glad to see you.'

'Will that be all Miss Persephone?' The sound of Hope's sweet high-pitched voice drew Persephone's green eyes away from the two reconciled souls to the tiny imp beside her.

'Yes, thanks sweetie, your free to go.' The blonde Goddess of Life replied lightly and the miniscule pink imp curtsied low before vanishing in a puff of pink shimmers.

'Aww, kid. I wish the sentiment was neutral.' Phil responded, hugging the dead hero back before pulling away and wiping some ghostly tears. 'What happened?'

'Whadda ya mean Phil? I died.' Hercules replied in a voice which sounded like this was the most obvious conclusion anyone could draw from his present appearance.

'I got that part Herc, what I meant to say was how?' The satyr drawled in response, his eyes narrowing as he folded his arms. Immediately Hercules sighed before setting his mentor down on the ground once more.

'The Fates decided it was his time.' Persephone spoke when Hercules failed to give an answer. Phil turned to the goddess in surprise, looking at her in confusion now as the dead hero flashed Persephone a grateful smile. He was pleased that she was not going to share the gory details of his grizzly demise.

'What?' The satyr sounded perplexed before suddenly shaking his head making his ghostly goatee swing wildly. 'No, no, no… It wasn't supposed to end like this.'

'It's not over yet Phil.' Hercules sounded with a slightly hopeful smile.

'It's not?' The satyr spirit blinked at his former pupil.

'My father, Zeus, is talking to Hades right now.' The dead hero replied warmly.

'He is?' Phil turned to look at the Queen of the Underworld who was perched on one of the stone garden benches surrounded by the Grove of Lethe's native plants and flora.

'Mmm-hmm...' She nodded, confirming Hercules' words. 'They're working out a deal as we speak right now.' The blonde goddess then picked a nearby asphodel and lifted the fragile flower to her nose and inhaled its sweet perfume.

'What kind of deal?' Phil kinked a brow as he placed his small hands on his wide, furry goat-hind.

'The kind of deal that will allow Hercules to leave and re-join the gods permanently.' Persephone said lightly as she snapped off most of the thick stem of the asphodel and tucked the flower into her golden hair. Phil gave a low whistle at these words before the goddess spoke again. 'But if I know my hubby, he's not going to let him go without getting something back in return.'

'Humph, sounds about right to me.' The spirit of Phil huffed but agreed with the Queen of the Underworld. Hades was not the type of god that let you have something for nothing.

'What do you think he wants?' The dead soul of Hercules asked curiously, wondering if his uncle still desired to rule Olympus.

'Hard to say.' Persephone frowned slightly now as she placed a black-painted nail to her cherry lips; clearly wondering what Hades had in mind. 'Not even I know how my husband's mind works in these kinds of situations. ' The goddess shrugged dismissively with a light smile. She might not know how her husband made his deals but there was no doubt in her mind that whatever her husband wanted from Zeus it would be something that their whole family could benefit from.

* * *

'You want the Underworld to recede from Olympian rule?' Zeus looked bewildered by Hades' contractual demand. He didn't have to ask as the whole jist of what the Lord of the Dead wanted was written in black and white before him but voicing it seemed to help stomach the reality of it. 'Hades… I can't grant you that.' He added in a concerned voice.

'Sure ya can Zeus. Ya just take this quill here-' The blue-flamed god then summoned a bony quill out of a swirl of smoke before wiggling his fingers and causing the bone-like quill to float over to the golden-tanned god and slip into his right hand. '-and sign on the dotted line, right by the X.'

'That's not what I meant Hades.' Zeus scowled deeply, letting the contract-scroll go so it fell back to the table. 'I can't grant the Underworld its independence without breaking up the trinity.' He added as his scowl melted into a look of concern as to why his brother wanted his realm to recede in the first place.

'The trinity?' Thanatos repeated in slight bemusement, kinking his brow curiously at his blue-flamed father. He wondered why he did not know what this 'trinity' was.

'The trinity hasn't existed since the Titan War, _brother!_' Hades spat the last word out violently, disgust forming in his mouth at the very taste of it.

'Yes, it still does! It's what keeps our realms connected to each other.' Zeus groaned heavily. 'It's what keeps the Olympians in power, what unites us against other pantheons who want to seize control of our assets! If you sever ties with Poseidon and me you break the trinity, making us vulnerable to outsiders!'

'_Really…_' Thanatos suddenly drawled as his eyes narrowed, his sharp mind processing this new information. 'The Fates kept that one quiet.' The golden-flamed teenager rubbed his square chin musingly as he considered how he could use this knowledge. Hades barely glanced at his son, keeping his full focus on Zeus as the golden god frowned momentarily at the teenage God of Death-in-training.

'Not to me it doesn't.' The blue-flamed Lord of the Dead sighed as his eyes drifted out of focus. 'It died a long time ago..' He muttered as a shadow of old pain crossed his eyes before the fiery god blinked and suddenly glared at his 'biological' brother; the old glimmer of loathing was back in his golden eyes. 'But that's not really the point, is it _Bolt _Boy? The cold hard fact of your situation now is that if you ever want to see your dead son again you will give me _exactly_ what I want. And if that means that your _precious_ _trinity_ is destroyed…' Hades tailed off as a very dark look crossed his features as he leant forward in his seat, slamming both palms on the solid stone table-top. 'S_o be it!_' He declared in a low voice, proving he was deadly serious.

'And what about your wife?' Zeus asked, suddenly remembering the agreement with Persephone.

'What about her?' Hades asked casually, his brows contracting slightly as he gazed blankly at his 'biological' brother without any concern at all.

'She is required to be on the surface for six months.' Zeus reminded his little brother but at his words both Thanatos and Hades exchanged a knowing grin before both pyrogods turned towards the Lord of Olympus.

'Persephone's home-realm is the Underworld; where she is queen.' Hades replied seriously, his eyes flashing dangerously as if silently challenging Zeus to dispute this fact. 'When the Underworld recedes from your rule that agreement is broken.'

'But what about her duties?' Zeus sounded immediately. 'She has a responsibility to-'

'I _know_ she has responsibilities!' Hades snapped irritably. 'But Seph and Demeter are big girls now they're just gonna have to work things out on their own, aren't they?' The Lord of the Dead sighed heavily. Zeus was such an idiot, he obviously didn't realise that the Goddess of Nature did not have a problem with him anymore. The Lord of Olympus had never paid that much attention to anything that didn't centre round his own existence and selfish needs… so typical of him.

'You really don't care what happens to Olympus, do you?' Zeus said, looking at his little brother plainly as if seeing him for the first time in centuries.

'Not in the slightest, _Zeus..._' The blue fiery god sounded without any emotion in his voice. '-my only concerns are my family and realm, nothing else matters.'

'What happened to you Hades? You never used to be this cold.' The golden-tanned god said as he studied his brother.

'Didn't I?' Hades replied, a slightly depraved smirk twisted on his face. 'I distinctly remember trying to kill you the first time we met.'

'Shoulda just followed through.' Thanatos' voice uttered in a low tone as the godling lowered his lips, glaring slightly towards Zeus as he said this.

'Nah, we'da been stuck with Cronos and believe me, he was much worse.' Hades murmured back, still looking darkly at his brother.

'You thought I was an intruder!' The Lord of Olympus responded to his brother's statement, completely missing the exchange between subterranean father and son.

'_Newsflash!_ It's six millennia later and… oh look, I _still_ think you're an intruder!' Hades snarled angrily, his flames rippling an angry orange colour.

'_Uhh…_ as much fun as it is for me to watch you two bicker like Ares and Athena maybe we should get back to the matter at hand.' Thanatos sounded helpfully, waving a hand towards the unsigned contract sitting in front of Zeus. The golden-flamed god then blinked as his own words sunk into his ears. 'Oh wow, did I say that? Heh, I'm spendin' too much time with Hermes, I'm startin' to sound like him.'

'He's right. We're gettin' off track.' Hades sounded immediately, sobering up from his moment of fury and his flames returning blue. 'Now, _sign it!_' His voice suddenly demanded as his flaming hair flashed a momentary yellow.

'Can't we talk about this first?' Zeus sounded reluctantly, not wanting to break the trinity that had protected them and their lands for so long now.

'No. There's no negotiating Zeus. You have two choices. Sign it and I'll allow your son to return or don't and I'll wipe his memories and send his soul to the Asphodel Fields. The choice is yours.' A twisted smile curved Hades' lips as he said this and immediately both Thanatos and Zeus stared in surprise at him.

'Da-ad… you're on fire!' The fiery teenager sounded with approval to his father but the Lord of the Dead waved him off with a smirk.

'Yeh, yeh I'm _that_ good, I know. Now shush, ya don't wanna quitter the deal.' Hades sounded lightly to his thirteen year old son with a wink and immediately Thanatos mimed zipping his mouth shut and throwing away the key.

'Asphodel Fields? Hercules is a hero, by rights he belongs in the Elysian Fields.' Zeus said firmly.

'He's also a liability!' Hades sounded sharply. 'He has no respect for rules and boundaries; what's to stop him from leaving the Elysian Fields and trying to save a soul from Tartarus that doesn't need saving? You know as well as I do that that kid of yours has a nasty habit of rushing off without all the facts.' The Lord of the Dead folded his arms tightly as his scowl deepened now.

'He won't-' Zeus began but was cut off.

'Why take the risk?' Thanatos sounded as he kinked a brow with a wide smirk towards his uncle and Zeus' eyes narrowed.

'I'm in charge of souls afterlives Zeus, not you. If I want to wipe a soul's memory clean and pack it off to the Asphodel Fields to avoid my realm plunging into Chaos, I can. And there's nothing you can do to stop me because you have no authority down here.' The fiery Lord of the Dead raised his brows in a childish 'so there' manner before smirking in mild amusement.

'So what's it gonna be Uncle Z?' Thanatos asked as his placed both hands on his bony hips, surveying his uncle with lazy enjoyment. 'Your son or your precious trinity? Ya can't have both.' He drawled lightly.

Zeus hummed unsurely as his eyes studied the contract before him and his mind flashed back to his teenage years, right before he'd set out to find his two brothers. He'd gone to the grotto of the Fates, sent there by his mother Rhea as they were the only ones in the cosmos who could tell him where to look. Even to this day the golden-tanned god with flowing white hair and beard could recall their words perfectly:

_The first you'll find deep in the Sea…_

_And in darkest land the last will be…_

_Once you unite, these brothers three…_

_You will form a powerful trinity…_

_Now if this bond is severed at all…_

_Then there's a chance these gods will fall…_

Even now the cackling laughter of the younger Fates rang clearly in his mind and Zeus squeezed his eyes shut. Could he really break the trinity that had protected the Olympians all these millennia? Immediately the look of devastation on Hera's face swam in his mind, the sound of her shrill sobs of grief racked him with guilt. What choice did he have? He could save his son or save the trinity. For a moment the golden-tanned Lord of Olympus wrestled with his conscience before making his decision. He picked up the previously abandoned bony quill and moved it over the page.

'Alright Hades. You win.' Zeus sighed heavily, giving in to his little brother's demands. This was for both Hera and Hercules. His large golden hand then signed his name at the bottom of the contract. 'Both you and the Underworld are free..'

* * *

_Little Notes:_

Hey peeps, I told you this update would be faster than the last! I'm pleased to see that so many of you are still loving this fic. It is near the end, we are on the home stretch now. It's Hercules' resurrection in the next chapter and once that's over and done with it's merely a case of closing all the loop-holes and the story is complete. I'm quite sad now as there is only a few chapters left.

Ok, there are a few little mythical truths in Hades' deal with Zeus. Firstly, the trinity that Hades and Zeus are referring to in this chapter is in reference to the three rulers of the Grecian world: Zeus, Poseidon and Hades. The trinity represents the bond that was formed between the brothers during the Titan War and how together they were powerful enough to stop their father Cronos, who was the most powerful Titan of them all. The severing of this trinity too is sort of myth relevant as Hades was the only god to remain (somewhat) in Christian myth. Hades is used to describe limbo, the transition between life and death before Heaven and Hell (the equivalent of the Asphodel Fields) and there he rules all the souls of purgatory. I'm sure there are some Christians who will disagree with this but if so then I seriously suggest they read the bible one more time because there are countless references to this fact.

The second part of his deal is in regards to the fate of Hercules. It was originally stated in myth that the soul of Hercules split. It was only his divine half that went to Olympus while his mortal half was left to wander the Asphodel Fields with no memory of who he was. Since in Disney Hercules was born a full-blooded god I felt it would be inaccurate to write this as a conclusion… as to what that conclusion is?

Stay tuned to find out…

~Ditzy xx


	59. The Resurrection of Hercules

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it, I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me._

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from its forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first. Also, because constantly being asked the same questions is starting to grate me: please __don't rely on Greek Myths__, this is Disney and they twisted a lot of myths around, I have done the same and explanations can be found in my Little Notes sections in relative chaps having said that though, some knowledge will kind of give you a small glimpse into where this fic is heading.._

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder, Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work._

…_Enjoy x_

* * *

_**Review Replies:**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: Thank you, I try to think outside the box! And you'll just have to wait and see about the trinity… it will get one final mention before the story ends in the next chapters X**_

_**Deathqueen100: It's updated hun…. Enjoy! X**_

_**Angelvan105: Thanatos is a neutral character, his area is death. His only loyalties are to his family, he doesn't have much use for compassion in his line of work… besides, with Hades out of the villainous game someone needs to pick up the slack, right? But there's a little more Herc and Phil in this chapter. X**_

_**Mittens4Kittens: And yeh, sorry hun. Story's gotta end sometime I'm afraid… and we'll see, there's a few more chaps yet. X **_

_**Darkness Rissing: Haha, puns, gotta love it! And yeh, if you like the Zeus bashing in that chap there's more for ya here in this chapter X**_

_**Wonderwomanbatmanfan: Update is here… glad you liked the last one X**_

_**BlackDiamond07: Yes, yes there is but it doesn't come until the very end of this fic so keep reading! X **_

_**Vikishus: Lol, I do…. Your obsession with Hades is like Amy Rose with Sonic XDDD **_

_**Nyx27Seth: Lol, fork out your needle hun, another injection of the 'good stuff' coming up! And there's more backchat for Zeus in this chapter, he hasn't escaped it just yet X**_

_**Wolfie'sBiggestFan: Well, yeh but that's only part of the issue, this chapter should clear everything up hun! Good guess work! X**_

_**Coldblue: Ok, I'm sorry to say this but PVD. won't be getting finished (although when you wrote this review it was actually six months) I'm moving away from Disney, I'm bored of it I've been doing it for 3 ½ years and have had enough. Although my focus is turning towards my Sonic fic I don't expect any of my old followers to cross with me so I won't be offended if you don't read it, trust me. Ok, two points you bring up which are incorrect: Hades and Persephone's followers are dead! They will still have them and the rule of Zeus isn't over just because Hades has decided to become independent, he's still taking in dead souls X**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

* * *

_Dedicated to: All my fans…. Thanks for sticking by me! x_

* * *

**Chapter Fifty-Nine:****The Resurrection of Hercules..**

'So what're the Elysian Fields like?' The spectre of Hercules was asking the spirit of Phil curiously as Persephone twisted nervously, perched on the grey stone garden bench of the Grove of Lethe. The goddess nervously twiddled her silvery platinum wedding band as her bright green eyes scanned the back stairs to the House of Hades, waiting for her husband to return with the verdict.

'Oh, it's great. Everyone's so nice and everything's so peaceful..' The ghostly satyr was saying with a smile. 'Mind you, it can sometimes be a little too peaceful, if ya know what I mean. Thank Persephone the souls in Elysium are free to wander the Underworld so I can leave that place and get sense of reality every once in a while.' A smirk curved the satyr's spectral blue mouth as he said this.

'And Hades is ok with this?' The dead hero asked in amazement, his ghostly blue eyes widening in shock at this new information on spirit life.

'Huh? Oh sure… as long as we return to our domain by the end of the day for the daily soul count he doesn't mind. In fact the ol' flame-head lets me join him and a couple of Oyzis' boys for a poker night once a month.' Phil said waving his hand as his smile widened further as his former trainee.

'So, how did you end up in the Elysian Fields anyway?' Hercules queried curiously and this caused Phil to frown.

'Whadda ya mean 'how'?' The ghostly satyr asked in incredulity. 'Hades sent me there. He decides the fate of all souls who come here, even you know that Herc. And he doesn't let his personal judgement of someone affect his decision, I learnt that the day I died..' He punched the dead hero's arm and Hercules gave a startled gasp as Phil had actually struck him, this was the first thing he had actually felt since becoming dead.

'_Ah_. Hey, I felt that..' He said in surprise before looking confused. 'Why did I feel that?'

'You're becoming one with our realm.' Persephone suddenly answered before the ghostly goatman could even open his mouth. 'The longer you stay here, the less chance you have of leaving.' Her eyes only glanced momentarily in his direction; she was still keeping a vigil for any sign of her husband. Her expression suddenly looked thoughtful as the blonde goddess considered something. 'Hmmm, I wonder if Zeus knows that?' Persephone added vaguely before her bright green eyes widened as her husband suddenly appeared out of a swirl of smoke in the Grove of Lethe with Zeus in tow.

'Hades!' She gasped out loud which drew both Hercules' and Phil's attention to the arrival of both godly rulers. As Phil stood solidly on the ground, his placement in the Underworld assured, Hercules merely floated at his side looking slightly nervous.

'You've come to an agreement then?' The Goddess of Life asked her blue-flamed husband, looking curiously into his yellow eyes.

'Yes.' Zeus sounded with a slightly bitter undertone in his voice.

'A contractual agreement.' Hades added airily, summoning the scroll that his older 'biological' brother had just signed and waving it in her face before stuffing it back down the front of his black toga. Persephone beamed widely and clasped her hands together.

'Can we just get on with this.' Zeus said with a slight frown of irritation, interrupting the white-skinned goddess' moment with her husband before she could even express her happiness. Persephone pouted slightly towards him unimpressed by his bluntness.

'Alright, fine…' Hades sounded with a sigh, his eyes narrowed towards Zeus. '-no need to be sucha sore loser, _sheesh_.' He added quietly as he half-rolled his large black pupils, only just managing not to shake his head wearily. 'Well Herc…' The fiery god rubbed his large greyish-blue hands together as his attention switched to the dead hero with a sly sort of smirk twisting his full blue lips. '-pack your bags, your daddy's bought ya a ticket to go topside.' He drawled lazily and immediately Hercules' ghostly blue eyes widened in surprise as his head swivelled in shock from Hades' twisted smirk to his father's face looking for confirmation.

'Really?' The dead hero sounded faintly with disbelief. 'I'm going back?'

'Well, I… no son.' Zeus drawled looking slightly uneasy. 'You're not going back to Gaia's surface; you'd be coming up to Olympus to stay with me and your mother.'

'So I'll never be able to say goodbye to Meg?' Hercules said with a slight air of disappointment.

'Er, no... I'm sorry Hercules. Your dead in the eyes of the mortal world, you can never go back there again.' The Lord of Olympus sounded gently with an apologetic flash in his sky blue eyes. 'I'm sorry son.'

'_Pffft_… I fail to see the issue here.' Hades said as his brows contracted as his grin tweaked at the corners of his lips. 'He's goin' from dead to god, am I missing something here?'

'He's been separated prematurely from his wife sweetie, that's a big adjustment.' Persephone replied as her slim white arms slid around his middle.

'Yeh, well, he's dead. In the eyes of mortals everywhere the marriage is done, kaput, ba-boom, history… know what I'm sayin'. Besides, he was never gonna be reunited with her when she finally snuffed it anyway _so_… in my opinion he can just get over it already.' Hades drawled as his own large well-muscled bluish-grey arm snaked its way around her middle and pulled her closer to him.

'Tactless sweetie, very tactless.' Persephone rolled her green eyes momentarily upwards at his words with a slightly amused smile.

'Yeh, yeh, I'm workin' on that..' He drawled dismissively in a tone that suggested he really wasn't. The white-skinned goddess then kinked her brow at her husband before changing the subject.

'So just how are you planning to resurrect Hercules since we no longer have a body for him courtesy of Thanatos?' She asked curiously then as their eldest child came into conversation she added. 'And speaking of the golden-flamed firestarter, where is he?'

'Than's in the throne room babe, said he couldn't stand the idea of watchin' his hard work go up in smoke. Translation: he's sulkin'. And as for resurrectin' Jerkules… I'm gonna need your help with that one..' He flashed her a suddenly persuasive grin.

'Me? Why do you need me to help you?' Persephone's brows knitted in confusion. 'Don't you have the power to send him back yourself.'

'In one word: No.' Hades replied grimly, a hint of subtle disappointment hitting his voice as if lamenting this fact. 'I have the power to send dead souls back to their discarded bodies then turn that immortal, I have the power to create corporeal bodies using dead souls to simulate life but I can't create an _actual_ new body. But you; you're the Goddess of Life, right? Creatin' new things is kinda your bag, isn't it?' Hades leered down at his wife before circling her, standing directly behind her with his large spider-like fingers on her shoulders and leaning his long chin on her shoulder.

'But I've never done anything like that before-' Persephone started only to be cut off.

'I have faith in ya.' Hades sounded before his wife could express any more doubt, her green eyes wide filled with fear.

'Oh. Well that's nice but it doesn't really help me now does it?' The white-skinned Queen of the Underworld glared at her husband, annoyance heating up the inchor in her veins.

'Ah, come on Seph.' The blue-flamed god drawled persuasively, his wide grin still wide. 'Ya didn't know how to reincarnate souls 'til ya went in the Elysian Fields, but that never stopped ya from sendin' your daddy's soul on..' Persephone lanced her husband with a steely glare for mentioning her father Iason.

'That was different.' She sounded annoyed before shrugging her shoulders loose of his grip and stalked off towards a nearby willow and folded her arms, jutting out her bottom lip in a slightly sulky pout.

'What just a minute Hades..' Zeus suddenly sounded in a stern voice causing the blue-flamed god to suddenly swivel around and look at the golden-tanned Lord of Olympus. 'You don't know how to resurrect Hercules? How is that even possible?' Zeus threw his little brother a look of incredulity. The Lord of the Dead's eyes narrowed in a deadpan expression at the King of the Gods' words.

'What? Are you kiddin' me? Turning a dead soul into an immortal deity has never been done before..' The blue-flamed god drawled towards him in a tone that matched his expression. '-and unlike you, oh _oneness_, I don't pretend to know _everything_ about the realm I govern.' Hades rolled his eyes then added, 'But I have a theory..'

'A theory? What is it?' Zeus scowled in disbelief. Hades immediately jerked his head in Persephone's direction. 'Her!' The white-haired Lord of Olympus nearly choked on his own tongue.

'Don't underestimate her Bolt Boy, you ain't seen what this li'l firecracker can do, alright?' Hades replied with a green flare of annoyance rippling over his blue flames. He disliked it when other gods demeaned Persephone's abilities. He'd seen just what his little wifeykins had been able to do in the Elysian Fields in regard to reincarnating souls and there was no doubt that in his mind that she could do this.

'Hades, no one deity can pull that sort of stunt. No one has that sort of power!' Zeus declared, his frown twisting accusingly.

'Yeh? Well nobody was able to reincarnate souls into new life before Seph came along either. Trust me, she can do this.' The blue fiery god smirked before turning back to his wife then approached her from behind.

'Listen babe, I know ya think I'm puttin' ya on the spot but I really think ya can pull this off..' He sounded softly leaning down so his mouth was level with her ear. At his words Persephone blinked then turned her face towards him so they were face to face with only inches between them.

'I don't know where you're getting this Hades, what makes you think I can turn a dead guy into an immortal god?' The blonde goddess kinked a brow at her husband, still not understanding why he was so sure she could do this.

'Seph, I don't 'think' babe, I _know_ you can do this. You reincarnate the dead every day. Your job is new life all ya gotta do is project enough new life into Jerkules to make him immortal.' Hades said placing her bluish-grey hand on her shoulder and throwing her a smile.

'Wait? You really think I can do this?' Persephone asked him, a small smile curving her lips.

'Sure baby. I've seen what'cha can do down here.' Hades responded lightly.

'But what if I can't do it.' She threw him a worried look.

'Then we'll try somethin' else but I seriously don't think it will come to that.' The blue-flamed god waved his hands dismissively at the idea of failure. 'Now whadda ya say Sephy, care to give it a shot?'

'Well, alright sweetie. I guess I could give it a try.' She sounded sweetly then lent in and kissed him compassionately on the lips..

* * *

Unsure how she was going to do this Persephone studied the soul of Hercules for a long moment. She knew that she could not burst his soul into orbs as this was how reincarnation worked but that wasn't what she wanted to achieve. The Goddess of Life's almond-shaped green eyes narrowed as she tapped her cherry coloured lips thoughtfully, musing on how best to do this.

'Honestly, how long is this going to take?' Zeus bristled impatiently causing Persephone to glance around in amazement at his blunt and loud tone.

'As long as it takes.' The Goddess of Life replied shortly, her neatly arched brows furrowing in annoyance at him. 'Unless of course you'd rather I just reincarnate his _astral ass!_' Her long blonde hair billowed momentarily into fiery flames as she spat the last two words venomously at the golden-tanned god. Hades couldn't help but stifle a childish snicker of amusement at the look of shock and sheer indignation on his face.

'You dare take that tone with me-' Zeus began hotly but the goddess cut him off.

'You're in _my_ realm! I'll speak to you how I like! Now shut up and let me think or I swear by the Styx I'll reincarnate him and you'll never know where he went!' Persephone snapped angrily and at his words Zeus stiffened as his aura flared angrily before he swivelled around to Hades who was still looking amused by their back and forth.

'What kind of god are you Hades; have you no control over your wife?' Zeus snapped, taking his annoyance out on his little brother since Persephone was refusing to submit as Grecian women and goddess' were supposed to.

'One of a kind Zeusy, one of a kind.' Hades drawled with a lazily smirk, enjoying the fact that the Lord of Olympus was uneasy with how he allowed his wife more freedoms than Hera would ever have.

'And you fully support your wife's statement do you?' He folded his thickly-muscled arms across his broad chest.

'Actually, yeh.' Hades responded, not feeling at all threatened by Zeus' intimidating stance.

'We had a deal Hades!' Zeus snapped furiously, grabbing the blue fiery Lord of the Dead by the neck of his chiton and toga combo.

'Yes we did Zeusy…' Hades drawled prying the Lord of Olympus' thick fingers off of him and pushing his hands away. '-unfortunately, ya don't have a deal with her.' The blue-flamed god kinked his brow.

'But the contract-' Zeus spluttered in disbelief.

'Section three, point gamma: All agreements are subsequently forfeit and rendered void should a conflict of interest arise between the beneficiary and his consort …' Hades reeled off as his eyes closed momentarily before his golden orbs opened and his pupils looked straight into his older 'biological' brother's sky blue ones. 'This means; I don't get my realm and you don't get your son. What my advice? Just let her do her stuff, ok?'

Persephone glanced back to the arguing siblings just in time to see Zeus sigh and sag, beaten down by her husband's fast tongue. She threw a momentary grateful smile at her husband, she was lucky to be married to such a supportive god. There was not many others who were as fortunate as she..

'Alright Hercules, I have an idea but I'll need you to close your eyes and stand perfectly still.' Persephone instantly snapped her head back to her dead nephew and smiled gently at him. Hercules looked a little nervous to the goddess in front of her.

'Will this hurt?' He asked her softly.

'No..' Persephone shook her head with a reassuring smile. 'This isn't a punishment, you won't feel a thing… at least not until you regain life once more.' She added as her smile twisted into a smirk of amusement. Hercules nodded in response and closed his ghostly blue eyes, trusting the Goddess of Life before him.

Persephone sighed heavily before taking a few deep cleansing breaths to keep calm then she raised her hands slowly and crossed her palms to concentrate her powers. She then placed her hands squarely on Hercules' ghostly chest. Immediately her shut eyes screwed up as she concentrated all her powers of life into her palms, just as she had done to bring Thanatos back from the brink of death when he'd returned home from imprisonment in Corinth. Immediately the aura around her hands glowed a powerful white and without thinking she began to do compressions against his chest...

Hercules immediately gasped out in shock as his ethereal body felt strangely tingly, like dozens of pins and needles were shooting through him. As the compressions continued a sudden burst of warmth spread through him, radiating from his chest and spreading down to his toes and out to his fingers. With heat emanating from his body Hercules' heart suddenly pumped into movement, pulsing in sync with Persephone's compressions against his chest and with this his senses seemed to burst into life. He became instantly more aware of how solid and weighty he felt. The compressions continued and it felt like a ray of sunshine spread over his body and suddenly his lungs burst into life…

The son of Zeus suddenly took a deep drawing breath and opened his eyes to find he was floating a little off the ground, staring upwards towards the black ceiling of the Underworld. He hadn't even noticed that Persephone's fingers had left his body and that the Goddess of Life was staring up at him with amazement. As Hercules turned his head around to look at Persephone he felt himself float down to touch the ground once more and immediately his sunshine aura dimmed down so it was nothing more than a pearly glow…

Hercules lifted his hands nervously to his face and moved them to touch his cheeks, feeling them solidly for the first time since his death. His brilliant blue eyes turned to Persephone and he smiled at her.

'How do I look..' He asked her curiously.

'Immortal…' Persephone replied simply with a smile tweaking her lips before she turned her eyes back to the two gods behind them. Zeus was staring at his son in shock and amazement while Hades flashed his 'biological' brother a wide grin.

'Not bad for a minor goddess, eh Zeusy?' The fiery god sounded lazily as Persephone moved back beside her husband and allowed him to slip an arm around her waist then pull her close.

'Herc..' Phil sounded emotionally as he eyed his former hero and friend. '-it's been a real privilege knowin' ya, kid. Thanks to you, I got to see my dreams come true and now..' The ghostly goatman swiped a spectral tear away from his transparent violet eyes. 'I'm here to witness yours comin' true.. I guess what I'm tryin' to say is, I'm proud to call you a friend.'

'Thanks Phil..' Hercules sounded gratefully then slapped his former mentor on the back causing him to wobble. 'I'm glad you were my coach, I would never have made it without you.' The pair immediately hugged tightly.

'Alright son..' Zeus said as the pair separated. '-let's go home.' The golden-tanned god wrapped his sunshine-tanned son's shoulders and smiled widely at him…

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey peeps… sorry for the wait but I am finding this story a bit of a strain now. I will try to update again soon. I do have one announcement though: For those who missed my post on deviantArt I am retiring from Disney-based fics. I've been doing these fics so long that I have lost all passion for it… so basically this is the last Herc fic I'm writing.._

_Anyway, stay tuned for an update soon (hopefully)_

_~Ditzy x_


	60. The God of Heroes' Final Goodbye

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it, I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me._

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from its forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first. Also, because constantly being asked the same questions is starting to grate me: please __don't rely on Greek Myths__, this is Disney and they twisted a lot of myths around, I have done the same and explanations can be found in my Little Notes sections in relative chaps having said that though, some knowledge will kind of give you a small glimpse into where this fic is heading.._

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder, Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work._

…_Enjoy x_

* * *

_**Review Replies:**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: I don't know why but I always wonder if I'm pushing the boundaries of his character too far when he's a brat but I can't imagine him any other way! It just seems so likely that a god who is used to getting what he wants when he wants would behave that way the minute he is denied.. And I've enjoyed having you as a reviewer! I'm not saying I'll never come back but for now at least, I need a break and a chance to write something else… X**_

_**Xitan22: Hmmm, this chapter may be just what you're looking for hun, but it does get a little emotional X**_

_**Deathqueen1000: Your welcome, so glad you enjoyed the chapter! Hope this was too X**_

**Angelvan105: You might want to grab a hanky for this one. More Meg pity is on the way. My apologies for the super late update! X**

_**Wonderwomanbatmanfan: Here we are… hope this was worth the wait :D x**_

_**Vikishus: Awww, you too hun! Only a few chapters left so drink them up… I think that's why these chapters are so hard to finish, I'm reluctant to let go! X **_

_**Nyx27Seth: Hahaha, she sure knows how to stick it to 'the man' huh? Haha I admit I actually like seeing Zeus get pawned for a change.. x**_

_**WhiteRoseDog: Awww, your sweet hun! I'm glad you've been enjoying the stories and hope you've also been checking out the little side fics that go with it! As for the personalities I just try to follow the canon of the movie and series (no mean feat considering how messed up the overall plot is). It is kind of important for me to tell a story from both points of view I didn't want to write a fic that supported one side over another. There's a lot of stories that tend to just side with Hades and you think 'well hold on, there must be a reason that Zeus feels this way'… or you read a story and feel your missing one side of the story because everything is focused on one character and because of this aspects of other characters have been lost along the way. And thank you, Than and his siblings do care for each other, even if they don't show it often and I agree Macaria may be an oddball in her home-realm but she's just so cute it's hard to really hate her. I've never seen Melinoe as Jessica Rabbit before, that's a new one, maybe when she's older she could be like a dark version of her but I've always sort of seen her as a bit like Violet from the Incredibles or Wednesday Adams from the Adams Family. I really want to finish this, the updates are slow but at least they come… x**_

_**Xx59shawtyangel95xX: Thank you, I'm honoured I've inspired others to write; even if it's a PowerPuff Girl fic (is that right? I think that's what it stood for). Another chapter is here FINALLY and thank you, yes I actually started a fic on Sonic which is going pretty well and that has been ruling most of my time.. I hope you enjoy the side fics that go with the main three too! X**_

_**SamuraiNega: Hey hun, thanks. Glad you enjoyed the chapter that is an epic win for Hades and Seph but it also comes at a price… x**_

_**Gemina: Ok, first off I just want to say that I know my grammar isn't perfect but I was using an old notebook for most of my writing and hopefully my new one, with its updated spell-check and grammar software will spot more of those mistakes and sort them for me. Glad to see it hasn't put you off reading my fic… To be honest it doesn't bother me in the slightest if you don't like Thanatos, to be honest there's plenty of things he does that I don't like but those are part of the character outlines I created for him so I have to live with it. And yes, in the film Hades did start the 'I'm gonna kill Herc' bandwagon but I did try to fix that by shifting the blame more on the Fates for influencing that in the first place. Remember their little prophecy at the start of the film? Hades wasn't even considering his nephew before then… And yes, I have mentioned a little pay-back on Zeus' behalf in this chapter. I can't actually kill Thanatos since he is death and I also state somewhere that Hades deemed suicide a criminal offence in the Underworld. It was supposed to be a joke of Hades basically saying 'if I'm suffering so are you'.. Anyway the next couple of chaps actually focus on Meg and Hercules as I want to close that book completely so maybe they will take your mind off hating Than x**_

_**Guest: Really? No name? Ok, fine…. Don't worry hun, the stories aren't going anywhere they're staying put so you can read them without fear they'll vanish into nothing x**_

* * *

**The Importance of Thanatos**

* * *

_Tissues at the ready people! This chapter gets a little blue… x_

* * *

**Chapter Sixty: ****The God of Heroes' Final Goodbye**

It had been a week since Hercules' death on the surface and the whole of Ancient Greece was still in mourning over the loss of their greatest hero. Athens, where the hero had died, hung black veils in respect while Prometheus Academy, where the hero had been a student in his teenage years, held a mourning service where the current pupils and teachers as well as former teachers and pupils who had been at the school at the same time as him could mourn. A bronze statue of the hero was even unveiled by the school's Titan Prometheus and although he knew fine well that Hercules was now with Zeus on Olympus he kept his head bowed in respect for the mortal who had redeemed his name. Thebes, the hometown of Hercules and his family, played host to the actual funeral of the hero where close friends and mortal family of Hercules came to mourn. As Acleme wept into her grey shawl Amphytrion patted her back while also trying to hold back his tears and remain strong for Hyllos who was beside him. The red-headed son was being comforted by Iole who was also blinking back the tears of sorrow, though she had not known Hercules long she had grown to care for him like a second father-figure.

But no matter how hard the rest of Greece took Hercules' death, nobody could grieve for the hero more than Megara. Ever since her late-night visit to the Temple of Necromancy the brunette had been silent, withdrawn and almost emotionless. Even at her husband's funeral Meg could not shed a tear, they merely pooled in her already bloodshot violet eyes. When her vision became impaired by the collection of salty tears she merely closed her eyes and wiped the tears loose on her slim fingers and flicked them demurely away. Beside the widowed wife of Hercules stood Pegasus, the winged horse was nuzzling into Meg and softly whinnying his own sorrows.

'There, there Horse-Feathers..' The middle-aged brunette petted his long nose tenderly, turning to face him with a sad smile. 'I'm sure Zeus won't let Hercules stay down there for long.' She uttered these words only loud enough for the white-winged horse to hear and Pegasus immediately seemed to perk up, he then leant into Meg and gave her a wet kiss. The middle-aged brunette only gave a half-smile at this before her fingers wiped the horse's saliva from her cheek. A small sigh escaped as she'd done this, her mind drifting onto the King of the Gods. She wondered if he had already managed to pull Hercules out of the Underworld. What had Zeus have to give up to convince Hades to agree? Would he let her see him on last time? Was that even possible? Meg knew that it made more sense to just try and move on with her life but...

…She just had to know.

Her violet eyes turned upwards as the eulogy continued. While many around her wept Meg gazed up at the clear blue sky, wishing that she could bring herself to shed just one tear on the day her husband's funeral. However it was her stubborn nature and desire not to look like a weak, pathetic damsel that made her hold back her tears. Meg had always presented herself as strong and in control and today would be no different. She would hold her tears until she knew she was alone… only her husband had ever seen her cry and that was the way it would stay.

Once the funeral was over Meg and her family received many kind words from their friends, neighbours and well-wishers. Hercules' long-time friend Icarus had even cried into her black pelops and navy chiton, at least he had until Meg grimaced with disgust and shoved him off of her, steering him towards Hercules' mortal parents. She had then turned back to the white winged-horse who had been following her around loyally ever since her husband had left Gaia's surface. Pegasus had been her one true bit of comfort through this ordeal, she doubted she would even have the strength to carry on if he had not been there to push her every step of the way.

Pegasus' bright blue eyes studied Meg's face with a frown of concern as the middle-aged brunette played idly with one of the white lilies on the wreath that Princess Helen of Sparta had sent with her condolences. How many infamous faces of Greece her husband had known in his short life had never failed to amaze Meg.. Helen was considered the most beautiful woman in all of Greece but her husband had always insisted her beauty was nothing next to his wife. After a moment of silent contemplation Pegasus nuzzled Meg affectionately and the brunette smiled and rubbed the underside of his muzzle gently before turning her violet eyes to him.

'We need to go to the temple of Zeus.' She uttered softly. Immediately Pegasus threw her a look of confusion complete with an odd purring whistle that sounded like he was questioning her. Meg frowned a little at his doubt and let out a sigh. 'I know what you're thinking Horse-Feathers but trust me, this is important. Will you take me?' Her face softened out of her frown but she still remained serious. Pegasus' blue eyes studied her expression for a moment before he nodded in agreement and Meg smiled a small grateful smile.

'Alright, wait here Pegasus. I'm gonna ask Herc's parents to watch the kids while we're gone.' Meg said and moved away from the white winged-horse and toward Amphytrion and Acleme who were with Hyllos, Iole and her own father Creon. Meg looked nothing like her father. He had black hair streaked with grey and an edge of white due to age, stone-grey eyes and a square jaw above broad shoulders. He had come to the funeral to offer his daughter support on this difficult day. Reconciling with him had been a difficult experience due to his attempt in her younger years to force her into marrying a complete stranger. But where Creon had failed with his daughter the Lord of Thebes had more than made up for it with his grandson. Hyllos had always been the apple of his grandfather's eye and if Creon had had his way her son would want for nothing. However both Meg and Hercules wanted their son to live a normal life, or as normal a life as a kid could with a hero for a father. They did not want him to be rich or spoilt but to remain humble and thankful for everything he had. She knew better than most that money and wealth changed people.

As she approached her family it was her own father Creon who turned to her first, enveloping her in a warm embrace and lowered his head to her ear.

'I'm so sorry Megara, he was a good man.' He murmured and immediately Meg nodded as she wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders and tapped his back carefully.

'Thank you.' She uttered softly as the pulled back from each other.

'You've lost weight. You must try to take better care of yourself now.' Immediately Meg's violet eyes rolled but she knew her father was right. She could see her weight loss in her face and even her son had been bugging her to eat. Creon immediately continued as if this was the extent of his parental duties for the day. 'Have you thought anymore about my offer?' This made Meg blink with surprise before suddenly remembering that her father had offered her a new villa in Thebes if she found it too difficult to stay in the one she had shared with her husband. If she chose to move her and her son out the plan was to transform the Hercules Villa into a museum dedicated to his exploits and its proceeds would be hers to do with as she wished.

'I haven't.' Meg replied before sighing, frowning as she realised she'd been doing a lot of sighing today. 'I need to discuss this with Hyllos and I wanted the funeral to be over before I broached it with him.'

'I understand.' Creon replied with a smile to his daughter. 'I am not pushing you Meg, I've learnt my lesson on that front. I simply want to make sure you're taken care of.'

'I know and I will get back to you on that but for now..' Meg's violet eyes turned towards her son who was stood between Acleme and Iole with his head bent low. His glorious red hair was hiding his handsome face from view. '-let's just let him mourn his father.' Creon nodded in agreement and Meg moved away from her father and towards Amphytrion. The aging old retired sheep-farmer smiled towards his daughter-in-law as she approached him before hobbling towards her with the aid of a crutch. His old limbs weren't as good as they were but he wasn't Underworld-bound just yet.

'I guess we all knew he was gonna leave Gaia's surface early, didn't we?' Amphytrion said slowly as he studied the wreaths and the simple laurel tree that they had planted in his memory. With no body to speak of they had nothing to bury. On the day of his death Meg had heard of how the priest of the Acropolis temple had thrown two silver drachmas into the fire so her husband would gain safe passage into the Underworld. When she'd tried to pay them back they'd refused merely stating that it was the least they could do to amend this great tragedy.

'I guess.' Meg repeated his first words back to him. Amphytrion turned to her sad face and gave her a sympathetic smile.

'You mustn't blame yourself Meg.' He said plainly. 'Our son wouldn't want that. Everyone has to go sometime and this is how the Fates decided he should go.'

'I know.' Meg relied in the same quiet tone. 'But it doesn't make it any easier to deal with.'

'You just have to take things one step at a time.' Amphytrion sounded wisely and Meg nodded gently wiping another tear out of her eyes before it could escape of its own free will.

'Thank you Amphytrion.' She smiled kindly at her father-in-law before wrapping a slim pale-skinned arm around him in a warm embrace. 'Hercules was lucky that you and your wife came along and found him, I know you both meant the world to him.'

'We believed we'd been blessed by the gods the day we found him. Still do to this day.' The aging retired sheep farmer said, stroking his beard with a bony weather-beaten hand. 'We couldn't have asked for a better son. He's with Zeus now and we should take comfort in that at least.' Amphytrion nodded as if confirming this to himself.

'Yeh, he finally gets to go home.' Meg agreed softly before suddenly looking more serious. 'Speaking of the big guy upstairs, do you think you and Acleme could watch the kids for me while Pegasus and I take a trip to his temple?' Hercules' mortal father widened his eyes at her words then frowned at her in concern.

'Now Megara, you shouldn't be looking for divine condolences. You need to try to move forward from this, for your son's sake.' Amphytrion folded his bony arms together and Meg immediately felt uncomfortable. Her father-in-law never seemed to miss a trick.

'I know but this may be my last chance to speak with the big guy and..' She answered a little too quickly and the old man's eyes narrowed scrutinizing her. '-I just have to know that Herc's with him.' Meg added softly, hoping he would just agree and not probe any further.

'Well alright, if it's what you really want then I guess we can watch the kids for you.' He replied sympathetically and immediately the middle-aged brunette smiled in appreciation.

'Thank you so much. You don't know what this means to me..' Meg replied gratefully before scooting over to Pegasus and climbing up onto his back with a little aid from the winged-horse. The pair then took off and flew away in the direction of Zeus' temple..

'Where's mom going grandpa?' Hyllos' voice sounded and the aging old retired sheep farmer turned to look at his grandson. He was tall and lanky, the spitting image of his father in his teens with Meg's unusual violet-coloured eyes.

'She's gone to get some closure son, that's all you need to know.' Amphytrion replied as Acleme and Iole approached the pair as the old mortal man ruffled his grandson's red hair affectionately.

* * *

'Wow…' Meg sounded in awe as she gazed around the huge golden temple with its intricately laid mosaics and enormous stone likeness of the King of the Gods. 'The big man upstairs sure has a penchant for being flash with the cash..' The middle-aged brunette could remember how she had once asked Hades, when still in his employ, if he really was richer than any other god in Greece why didn't he want to display his wealth. She couldn't help but smile to herself remembering his outraged response… _What? Ya seriously want me to just bling up my crib like one of those other piffy show-off yutzes with more moolah than sense? Eesh… no thanks babe, I chose not to be like those schmeils. Whoa! Hold the chariot, who said you could ask me any questions? Get back to work toots, break's over! Time is money; know what I'm sayin'… let's go, go, go! _…He had been a slave driver; Meg barely had gotten a moment to herself when she'd worked for him. Her entire waking moments belonged to Hades and the second he appeared to her Meg was expected to drop everything and serve his every whim. Usually it was some god-forsaken job that even his pathetic imps wouldn't have done that he just thrust upon her, barely caring if she could actually perform said duty or not. Although it hadn't all been bad, despite his infamously volatile temper he had never actually struck her with his flames and his idea of a punishment had been to add 'years' to her sentence even though it was already a lifetime sentence. He had even made sure she was taken care of. The entire time she'd served the Lord of the Underworld she had never had to worry about money, or lodgings and he provided her with new clothes when she needed them. But most amazingly he'd never even tried to make a pass at her. In fact the only time he'd flirted with her at all was when Hades had been emotionally twisting her into his way of thinking so she would do a job without arguing back. All in all Meg had been pretty lucky, she'd heard of mortal girls who had entered a contract with an immortal god and were expected to sleep with that god as part of the deal. Compared to those sick immortals Hades was a gentleman..

As Meg padded gently up the empty temple taking in the over-elaborate decorations and suddenly understanding why the Lord of the Dead would not dress up his own temple. This place seemed so unnecessarily flashy, she found herself preferring Hades' gloomy understated style. Pegasus trotted behind her gently and made a soft noise in her ear as his blue eyes looked around the temple.

When she reached the foot of the huge statue of Zeus the lithe middle-aged brunette still dressed in her funeral attire fell to her knees. Meg prostrated herself as a tear finally managed to roll down her cheek.

'All mighty Zeus, hear me, hear my prayer… I-I need to know, is Hercules up there with you?' She uttered these words softly and the single tear fell to the ground beneath her face..

'Megara..' A deep sympathetic voice sounded and the brunette then slowly raised her head to see that the statue of Zeus seemed to have moved, leaning forwards and looking intently at her. '-what are you doing here?'

The moment she saw the statue began to move its lips Meg let out a horrendous high-pitch scream of fear, having never witnessed such a thing before as every other god she'd met had always appeared to her in person. She immediately wrenched herself to her feet and took off down the temple, hurtling herself towards Pegasus and hiding under his right-side feathery wing.

'Oh for the love of…' Zeus cursed mildly, slapping his stone-based head with his large grey palm. '-why does every mortal I become omnipresent for respond like this?' He muttered rolling his stone eyes before his gaze turned to Pegasus who had lifted his wing a little and was nuzzling the terrified wife of his newly immortal son.

'Meg..' He tried again, in a soft coaxing tone. '-there's no reason to be frightened, you asked for me and now I'm here.' This caused the middle-aged brunette to slowly peek her head out from underneath Pegasus' wing and gazed at the huge statue.

'I wasn't expecting you to actually appear, least of all like _that_.' Meg replied, finally stepping out and away from the white-winged horse and frowned at the King of Gods. 'You nearly scared me half to death!'

'I'm sorry my dear; this was how I always appeared to my son when he was on Gaia's surface. I thought he would have told you.' Zeus replied gently, his rumbling voice still managing to fill the entire temple despite its quiet tone.

'No, I assumed you'd just appear to him in person, like every other god I've been in contact with, I didn't even know you could communicate through your statues.' The middle-aged brunette replied, accepting Zeus' apology knowing he would never have meant to scare her.

'I prefer to come this way, it attracts less attention. As King of the Gods I tend to draw a bigger following than my brothers and sisters and to be constantly admired and beseeched can take its toll after a while..' Zeus sighed wearily. 'There are so many who want so much, after a while I have to just tune them out. When I'm omnipresent like this it's much easier to focus on the one beseeching my advice, though you should know I only ever do it in extraordinary cases like this.' He added with a kind smile to his son's former wife.

'So this will be the last time we talk face to face.' Meg sounded gently.

'Yes. But this was what we agreed to when you and Hercules came to us with the news of Hyllos, was it not? Hera and I have respected your wishes although I admit we do peek in now and then just to check on him. He's going to be a fine young man that boy of yours.' Zeus sounded with a wide smile that hinted at his inner pride concerning his mortal grandson. 'He may not have his father's strength but he does have his heart.'

'Yes, that is something we can both agree on.' Meg smiled faintly, thinking about her only child with Hercules. 'And please, feel free to peek any time you like. It's nice to know that even if you aren't a direct part of his life you still look out for him.'

'Of course and I'm sure Hercules will watch over him as well.' Zeus said with a smile and Meg blinked at the subtle answer of her question.

'So he is up there.. How did you get Hades to agree to release him?' Meg asked instantly looking at the god curiously. Zeus immediately sighed thinking about all he had had to give up and what it was going to mean for the uncertain future of Greece.

'It was a heavy price but worth it to have my son back where he belongs.' Zeus replied as he sank back into the huge stone chair his statue was seated in. 'But you know what my brother is like, he's as stubborn as Argus the Many-Eyed and won't be budged once his mind is made up.'

'Yes. I remember.' Meg said gently, remembering her time with the flame-haired deity vividly. 'And how is my husband?'

'Hercules is with Hera and is as well as can be expected in this unique situation but I can't tell you any more than that. Hades made some stipulations in the agreement we struck that must be honoured, your husband is dead Megara and as such I cannot tell you anything that will keep him alive for you. You must learn to move on with your life.'

'I… I understand..' Meg sounded in a small choked voice as another tear burst free from her watery eyes.

'Unfortunately since you are here there is one more important matter that we must discuss.' Zeus sounded importantly clasping his large stone hands together.

'Which is?' Meg asked tentatively, looking slightly apprehensive now.

'Pegasus..' The King of the Gods stated plainly and immediately Meg's violet eyes turned to look at the white-winged horse and Pegasus made a confused whistling noise as he cocked his blue-maned head.

'What about Pegasus?' She asked slowly, having a horrible feeling that she already knew what was coming.

'He is an immortal stallion, he was merely sent down to accompany my son during his time on Gaia's surface. Now that time is complete he must return to Olympus to live out his days with the rest of the immortals.' The King of the Gods said in a tone that tried to soften the blow for her but how could you really soften this kind of news?

'I see..' Meg sounded in an almost inaudible voice. Her violet eyes returned to Pegasus as the white-feathered winged-horse approached her and began to nuzzle her gently with a soft cooing purr. 'But what should I tell Hyllos?' The brunette asked gently as she stroked his nose tenderly. More tears were forming in her eyes now, loosing Hercules had been hard but now that she was losing Pegasus as well meant a hard lump formed in her throat.

'You're a smart woman Meg, I'm sure you can think of something.' Zeus replied and his words made her sigh as she hugged the white-winged horse. He had been her strength, helping her rise and face a new day since her husband's death. Now it seemed he must leave her too..

'C-can I have a few minutes to say goodbye first?' Meg sounded tearfully as the tears flowed more freely now. It seemed that this loss was the one that would release all the tears she should already have shed.

'Of course you can my dear..' Zeus replied in a soft sympathetic tone. Sitting back and closing his eyes as if he'd gone but Meg knew he hadn't really, he was just in a high place of consciousness. Meg then pulled away from the winged-horse so she could look him right in his big blue eyes.

'Well Horse-Feathers, I guess this is goodbye. I know we've had our ups and downs over the years but I want you to know..' Meg spoke in a gentle voice as she stroked his blue mane tenderly. '-you were the best friend a girl like me could ask for. Just promise me one thing.' Her voice cracked with the weight of her grief and Pegasus nudged her chin affectionately, he too seemed to wear a morose expression as a wing curled around her lithe frame. 'Promise you won't forget me because I will never forget you..' She hugged him around the neck before pulling away slowly.

Pegasus made another cooing purr, nuzzling her affectionately before pulling away and flapping his wings, rising up off the ground and loop-de-looping in the air in front of Zeus' statue. The huge statue opened his eyes once more and he smiled warmly down to Meg.

'Live your life Megara; live it to its fullest.' Zeus stated plainly as he gazed warmly down to the mortal woman before turning to flying winged-horse. 'It's time to return home my young friend..' Immediately Pegasus gave an excited whiny before vanishing out of the square gap in the ceiling and was soon lost amongst the stars that were starting to poke out of the evening star. Meg let out another sigh as she stood helpless in the temple.

'Take good care of your family..' Zeus said as his presence faded from the statue leaving her alone in the slowly darkening temple. With a heavy heart the middle-aged brunette turned away and moved slowly out of the temple..

* * *

It had been almost two weeks since Hercules had first ascended to Olympus with his father and he was still finding it hard to adjust to the changes that came with his new life. He still felt like a thirty-five year old mortal man but his immortal body no longer reflected that, he looked like he had when he was eighteen. He was also living in his parents enormous cloud palace right at the very peak of Olympus and was expected to follow expected ground rules since he was considered a minor in the eyes of godly society. Though these things were hard to deal with he could of handled them easily if it had not been for the added stipulations of his father's agreement with Hades. He had not learnt of those until they had arrived on Olympus.

Alpha: He was not allowed to descend onto Gaia's surface for a minimum of one mortal lifetime... This was considered a respectable mourning period for the mortals and would turn his exploits into epic legend. Then when he did reappear the mortals would consider it a divine miracle and his godhood would be set in stone..

Beta: He was forbidden from making any kind of physical contact with his mortal family... Hades apparently had been very stern on that point and amazingly Zeus agreed with it so that was already set in stone.

Gamma: He was never to return to the Underworld... Hercules was officially banished from that realm along with Zeus.. In response to this the King of the Gods had made a decree of his own. Thanatos had technically murdered his son and showed no signs of remorse while neither Hades nor his queen Persephone were willing to punish his actions… The royal Underworld family were officially exiled as Olympians and were no longer welcome upon the cloudy realm of the gods. Since Gaia's surface was technically no god's realm Zeus did not have the power to stop them from appearing there, even if he wished he could trap them all in their dark underground realm for eternity.

Hercules sighed as he peeked down over the edge of the cloudy realm; his eyesight was now much better than it had ever been when he was mortal. If he chose to focus on a particular mortal he could and his eyes just seemed to hone in on that person. However the only mortal he'd been watching was his wife as she merely moved morosely on with her life. He watched her deal with the villa's laundry then tend to the new honey-coloured mare she had bought on her way home from Zeus' temple. He knew he shouldn't watch her but he couldn't help himself, he pined for her just as he could see that she still mourned for him. Hercules knew that if they could just say their final goodbyes that both he and Meg would be able to move on from this. It didn't matter how many people told his former wife that she was not responsible for his death, it wouldn't stop her blaming herself. She needed to hear these things from him. He knew this was impossible though, he wasn't allowed to make contact with her to reassure her..

When she disappeared back inside of what had once been their home Hercules turned his attention to his son. Hyllos seemed to be coping better; he had Iole to help him through. Sometimes the teenage couple talked and sometimes they merely sat in silence but the young princess seemed to ease his son's burden. It was Meg who wasn't coping on her own… He needed to do something.

Hercules' blue eyes narrowed as he tried to think of a way around the rules that Hades and his father had set down but unfortunately the new God of Heroes could not see a way around it. The suddenly something Persephone told him during his brief stay in the Underworld floated to the front of his mind and in that instant he knew what he needed to do… Hercules snapped his fingers as the perfect god to help him came to mind.

He blew a sharp whistle with his fingers and immediately Pegasus flew down from a higher cloud he'd been using as a roosting point. The winged horse gave a purring coo as he landed and Hercules jumped onto his back.

'Let's go Pegasus..' He declared brightly. 'We're going to pay an old _friend_ a visit.' The winged-horse grinned and whinnied keenly before flapping his wings and the two friends took off..

'So, is there any way you could help me out?' The golden-skinned God of Heroes asked in a tentative tone, hoping beyond hope that this god would help him speak to Meg one last time. He had left Pegasus outside knowing his winged-companion would not travel out of earshot of a call.

'Y'know…' The scratchy high voice of the green-skinned god before him drawled as he surveyed Hercules through narrowed yellow eyes. '-if I was my brother Morpheus the answer would be a grim and gritty… no!' The God of Dreams then straightened his plum nightcap before smiling mischievously. 'It's just fortunate for you that I take great pleasure in twisting the rules..' Phanatos continued as he folded his arms across his long-sleeved matching plum chiton.

'So you'll help me speak to Meg?' Hercules said keenly, suddenly looking excited.

'Sure, why not? Just don't tell anybody, ok?' Phanatos grinned back before picking up his multi-coloured blanket of dreams.

'Oh wow. Thank you, thank you! How can I ever repay you?' Hercules sounded in a breathless rush of excitement and the God of Dreams kinked a brow with a deadpan expression.

'You could not do that again. Don't be so pathetic, you're a god now you have to make an impression.' Phanatos said waving an arm.

'Oh. Alright. How about-' Hercules then cleared his throat then spoke in a deep voice. 'Thank you for your assistance Phanatos.' The God of Dreams blinked in shock before instantly shuddering as he sounded so much like Zeus it was scary.

'Ok, scale that back ten percent and we're golden.' Phanatos added nodding as if confirming this fact then grinned widely as Hercules blinked at his words. 'Alright, moving on… if you wanna communicate with Meg in her dream I can do that but in order for that to work I'm gonna have to put you to sleep at roughly the same time as Morpheus hits your ex-wife.'

'How are you gonna do that?' Hercules asked curiously, knowing that Phanatos only had power over dreams and not sleep itself.

'Oh that's easy. My dad Hypnos is the original Sandman. He got that name because he used to put mortals to sleep using dream dust, the same dust that is woven into both mine and Morpheus' blankets and it just so happens that I still have a some after I finished weaving mine.' The green-skinned god with blonde hair then pulled off his hat revealing a small bag of dust. He pulled it off of his head and grinned at the God of Heroes.

'Why don't you just get comfortable on the chez-lounge there and I'll see where my _dear_ brother has got to..' Hercules couldn't help but notice the slightly devious undertone in Phanatos' voice; it seemed that he had a natural knack for spotting a deviant being. Although the God of Dreams seemed to be on the up and up with his promise he was in actual fact an Underworld deity and a 'nephew' of Hades himself. It made Hercules wonder if being the God of Heroes gave him a natural ability to sense evil and also when he was in the presence of a distrustful being.

'Alright..' Hercules replied and settled himself on the long chair deciding that he would trust Phanatos just now and wait to see if he did anything under-handed. As he got comfortable the green-skinned Underworld deity swirled a large hourglass and watched as the swirling sands revealed where in Greece his older brother Morpheus was flying over with his blanket.

'Good, he's just approaching Thebes now.' Phanatos turned his golden eyes away from the hourglass and his brother. 'If you're gonna take control of this dream I have to hit you at exactly the same moment so keep perfectly still..' Hercules said nothing but closed his eyes and lay perfectly still. Phanatos kept tabs on his brother using the hourglass then at the precise second the dust from the blanket of sleep hit Meg the God of Dreams poured a double dose of dust on Hercules and the God of Heroes instantly fell into a deep, deep slumber.

'Night-night Hercules..' Phanatos giggled before grabbing his blanket and disappearing out of his private room to go and perform his nightly duties…

* * *

…_Meg blinked as she found herself surrounded by a thick white misty fog. It was so thick that she couldn't see anything, not even the ground she was walking on. This was so different from her usual dreams, not that she had dreamt anything lately as she hadn't been sleeping very well. This was the first dream she had actually had since her husband had died. Usually when she closed her eyes she could hear his piercing yells, smell his burning flesh and then she'd wake up drenched in sweat… This dream had none of those things, it was quiet and serene and she felt oddly peaceful as she walked through the fog. She had no idea where she was going but for some reason it didn't matter. As long as she wasn't about to walk in on her husband roasting on an open fire she was happy to just walk along._

'_Meg…' A voice sounded and immediately the brunette swivelled her head looking for some clue to this painfully familiar voice. 'Meg… Don't be afraid. Come to me..' The voice spoke again in a calm serene tone that made tears leak out of her violet eyes. This time however they were tears of joy and immediately the brunette picked up the edge of her lilac skirt and ran towards the voice through the thick fog._

'_Hercules..' She cried out and as soon as his name left her mouth the fog seemed to dissipate and reveal a garden very similar to their huge garden in their villa. Meg immediately stopped as the grounds were make known to her and her violet eyes scanned for her husband. Then they widened when they finally saw him. He looked just as he did when they'd shared their first date over eighteen years ago, except now he was surrounded by a glowing golden aura that gave him a natural sun-kissed look. Immediately Meg turned to the pool of water nearby to check her reflection, wanting to look presentable for her husband. She gasped out in shock when she saw her appearance. Gone was the messy bun she always wore, the light crows-feet that had started to appear by the corner of her eyes and she was no longer wearing her usual deep pink dress either. Instead the girl in her reflection looked like the same Meg that had met Hercules eighteen years ago. Young, fresh-faced and beautiful. Smiling she then turned to approach her husband only to find that in the time she had been staring at her reflection he had approached her instead._

'_Hercules..' The brunette gasped and immediately fell into his strong arms, feeling safe as he wrapped them tenderly around him. 'I knew you'd come back, I just knew it.'_

'_I had to and this was the only way how..' Hercules replied softly, holding his wife close to him and inhaling her scent, burning it to his memory. He then pulled away from her and Meg immediately looked confused as to why he had. 'I need you to listen to me Meg.' He added carefully. He then took his wife by the hand and led her to a stone bench that looked over the lower grounds. As they seated together he clasped her other tiny hand in his grip._

'_My death was not your fault. It was just part of the Fates' design.' Hercules said calmly as his intense blue eyes burned into her. He wanted her to accept this fact solidly, only then could she move on._

'_But I'm the one who smeared your shirt in Nessus' blood.' Meg exclaimed, clutching his fingers tighter and feeling the tears well up as guilt filled her being._

'_Maybe so but you could never hurt me Meg, not intentionally. I'm the one who defied the Fates by resurrecting you remember? If anybody is responsible for killing me then I doomed myself eighteen years ago. Hades said it himself; I should have died in the poisonous waters of the Vortex of Fire. I didn't just change your fate that day, I changed mine too.' Hercules spoke softly, rubbing the backs of her hands and Meg's grip slackened._

'_So… I was just a pawn?' The brunette said slowly._

'_Yes, you and Thanatos both were.' Hercules replied in the same serene voice. 'Do not hate my little cousin Meg, pity him. Yes, he is responsible for concocting the plot that eventually led to my death but it was the Fates who steered him in that direction. Thanatos' sole purpose is to be a slave to their every whim. He may not know it yet, he may never know but he exists purely to carry out their deepest and darkest desires. When the stories of my flame-haired cousin are told, all of Greece will despise him as much as my father.. But he is not worthy of our hate.' Meg couldn't help but stare at her husband in shock. She had just been used as part of a scheme and he was asking her not to hate the one responsible for it._

'_Meg, I want you to promise me you will move on.' Hercules continued on before she could really digest how she felt about Thanatos or his plot. 'I want you to find yourself a good man, someone who will take care of you-'_

'_Herc… how can I?' Meg instantly replied, feeling the tears string her cheeks again. 'Who would measure up to you?' At these words Hercules threw her a gentle smile._

'_What if I sent you a sign when a good man came along, would you choose him then?' The God of Heroes said, kinking a brow and immediately Meg blinked, wiping her tears away._

'_Yes, of course but how will I know it's from you?' The brunette sounded softly, gazing at him in wonder now._

'_Trust me Meg, you'll know..' He murmured before he suddenly looked upwards as if hearing something she couldn't. 'I have to go now.' He added and Meg immediately looked panicked._

'_Herc…' Meg said suddenly as he rose to his feet once more. 'I love you.'_

'_I love you to Meg and I'll always be watching you.' He murmured before the fog suddenly rolled in causing him to vanish from view. It swirled around and around until everything went black…_

* * *

…Meg suddenly awoke to find that it was already daylight. For the first time since her husband's death she had slept right through the night. She felt calm and peaceful, realising that she was able to accept that his death was not her fault. Pulling herself up, the middle-aged brunette got out of bed and pulled on her usual deep pink chiton. She then combed her long brown hair, tying it back into a bun and proceeded to do her make-up. Today was going to be the start of a new beginning for her and she couldn't wait to see what would happen next. Meg spritzed herself with her fresh –smelling perfume then admired her usual thirty-four year old reflection and turned away from the mirror. She turned the door handle of her bedroom and walked out of the door with the first smile she had worn in days…

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey people, sorry about another ridiculously long wait for a chapter! I guess I really an having trouble letting this fic go… Anyway, this chapter and the next are all about Hercules and Megara. I really want to shut the book on this couple before I shut the book on the Underworld. This bit is really important to me and I know there will be a lot of people going 'Arrrrgh, why aren't they together' but they weren't together forever in myth and I think that bit is important to remember…_

_Only a slight mention of Hyllos in here but the next bit is more on him and Iole after all, we still haven't learnt who Herc wanted her to marry! _

_Anyway, hopefully the next chapter will be a bit quicker in coming out…_

_Stay tuned…_

_~ x_


	61. Moving Forwards to New Beginnings

_Ok peeps, same deal third story (and it's a good one!) ok, fifth if you want to get technical about it, I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but Persephone, Thanatos and all the other original characters and places that pop-up belong to me._

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from its forerunners; Plight of Persephone & Daddy's Little Hellraiser (plus a few things from both short stories too) so read them first. Also, because constantly being asked the same questions is starting to grate me: please __don't rely on Greek Myths__, this is Disney and they twisted a lot of myths around, I have done the same and explanations can be found in my Little Notes sections in relative chaps having said that though, some knowledge will kind of give you a small glimpse into where this fic is heading.._

_Little hint: if you haven't read it's forerunners then you __will__ get confused because some things that have happened in past fics are coming back in this fate-filled fic.._

_And a little reminder, Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work._

…_Enjoy x_

* * *

_**Review Replies:**_

_**AngelOfDarkness1959: It wouldn't be a true funeral scene without mentioning a few past faces. Hercules touched so many lives in his mortal life that it wouldn't be fair not to mention them. And yes, I will probably upset a few more Hercules and Meg fans with this chapter as it shows them moving on. x**_

_**Xitan22: Hmmmm… you may want to read on with caution as this chapter closes the door on Hercules and Meg permanently x **_

**Angelvan105: Well I tried to punch some humour into this chapter. After such a sad chapter it really needs some humour… but yes, even I got keyed up for the last chapter, it came with a sense of relief when it was written as I was very nervous about how it was going to be taken x**

_**Wonderwomanbatmanfan: Glad you enjoyed the chapter but now you understand the tissue warning at the start of the chapter! X**_

_**I-Am-The-Publisher: Ok, you will have to wait another chapter for news on the trinity as this is the final Meg and Hercules chapter, closing the book on this pair forever. I will be getting back to it when I return to the Underworld for the final chapters as I close the book and leave a hint to a new story… though whether it is written or not will be another issue. And I will consider another Erebus and Hades moment as I do like those too! Erebus is a favourite of mine x**_

_**Nyx27Seth: Hahahaha! Yeh I did cry a bit writing it and I knew it was coming! It was a difficult chapter to write and went through a few rewrites before I was happy to post it. I wanted it to be realistic because they were the main couple in Hercules and I felt they were owed such a parting. Anyway, hopefully this chapter will make you feel better! X**_

_**megacarroll: And yes, Hercules did have to pull a bit of loop-holing to say goodbye but it was needed for the story to move on. X**_

* * *

_**The Importance of Thanatos**_

_**Chapter Sixty-One:****Moving Forward to New Beginnings..**_

'Very nice Iole..' Meg sounded as she looked over the princess' weaving on the loom. '-you're much better than I was when I was your age.' The middle-aged brunette smiled encouragingly as she inspected the fine-stitching on the soft-material stretching the huge wooden loom. 'But then Mrs Petrides wasn't the most competent teacher..' Meg frowned to herself as she remembered her old Home Greconomics teacher.

'You really think so.' The dark-blonde-haired Princess of Pherea clasped her dainty fingers together and looked hopefully towards Hyllos' mother. Meg smiled kindly back at the almost fourteen year old girl. She had felt bad about treating her so shabbily when she'd first arrived in their home almost six months ago so ever since her husband's death the middle-aged brunette had promised to treat Iole better and get to know her properly. It seemed the grief that came with losing Hercules had brought the whole household much closer together.

'Absolutely, you're a natural. Athena had better watch herself you could give her a run for her drachmas..' Meg beamed widely and moved directly behind the young princess.

'I wouldn't go that far, I wouldn't want to end up like Arachne.' Iole replied nervously, not wanting to insight Athena's wrath.

'Arachne was nothing more than a big-headed brat who needed taken down a few pegs.' Meg sniffed in a haughty manner remembering the girl she had once gone to school with and was now a big hideous spider because she was stupid enough to pit herself up against the touchiest of all the goddesses. 'You have more sense than she could ever have. Now let me show you how to take it off the loom without damaging the-' A sharp knocking sound came from the front door before the middle-aged brunette could demonstrate how to remove the material from the loom properly.

'Oh! Why do people have such perfect timing..' Meg sounded sarcastically as she placed her hands on her hips and scowled to herself. The middle-aged brunette then called out as a second knock sounded. 'Is somebody gonna get that?' If she had been hoping that Syrinx or Hyllos might answer the door she was sadly mistaken as a third knock sounded making her violet eyes roll. 'Alright, alright… I'm coming, keep your chiton on.' Meg added and stalked out of the room with a curious Iole following her. The young princess settled herself on the stone stairs as the middle-aged brunette answered the door. Syrinx and Hyllos must be outside in the gardens somewhere and unable to hear.

'King Admetus..' Meg's pink-painted lips fell open in shock as she gazed at Iole's father who was standing at the door accompanied by a couple of guards. 'Wh-what are you doing here?' She stammered before remembering her manners and opening the door wider. 'Please, come in..' The Ruler of Pherea smiled kindly at her before turning to his guards.

'Wait here.' He ordered firmly before stepping inside the Villa of Hercules. 'My apologises for not visiting sooner Megara but I wanted to give you and the family a suitable period of mourning before coming here to discuss my daughter's situation.' He sounded sympathetically as Meg shut the door on the two guards who were waiting for their master outside.

'Your daughter's situation?' Meg repeated confused with a glance towards Iole who, at the mention of herself tensed fearfully. Her father King Admetus still hadn't noticed she was sat there.

'Father!' Iole suddenly burst down the stairs and ran to her father. 'I don't want to leave! Don't make me leave!' The dark-blonde-haired princess pleaded, fearing that her father was here to take her away from this place, just as she was truly starting to feel like this was her home.

'Iole honey..' Meg spoke in a soothing voice and placed her hands gently on the teenage girl's shoulders. Iole's panicked pale-blue eyes turned to her immediately. 'Why don't you go and see if you can find Hyllos while your father and I talk..'

'I don't want to leave..' Iole murmured in a timid voice.

'It's alright, just go find Hyl, ok?' Meg replied coaxingly with a smile and reluctantly the young princess nodded before moving through the large reception room to the kitchen at the back of the villa. The moment she was gone the middle-aged brunette's violet eyes hardened as they turned back to King Admetus.

'So what is it you want to talk about?' Meg spoke in a cool voice moving slowly towards a chez-lounge and resting her hands on the back-rest.

'I came to discuss the agreement that your husband and I made last year.' King Admetus replied smoothly causing Meg's brow to kink in confusion.

'What agreement?' Her violet eyes widened in surprise at his words and she slowly moved around the seat and perched herself on the edge, wondering just what Hercules had been keeping from her.

'He never told you!' King Admetus sounded in shock, his own grey eyes widening.

'No…' Meg murmured softly. 'I guess not..'

'So all this time you've had no idea why Iole is truly here?' King Admetus asked her, his voice remained amazed.

'She's here because Hercules won that archery contest and he promised to find her a husband..' The middle-aged brunette replied as she readjusted the skirt of her deep-pink chiton to cover her ankles better.

'Not quite.' These words from the Ruler of Pherea shocked Meg, her violet eyes gazed warily at him now. 'When your husband entered the archery contest he was already shooting on behalf of his intended suitor to my daughter. Your husband and I both agreed that he was a smart match for my daughter and that if he entered the contest their betrothal was a sure thing..'

'I'm sorry, _what!_' Meg interrupted the king's explanation feeling angry, hurt and betrayed now. Her violet eyes flashed with all these emotions as if she had just screamed them out loud.

'I'm sorry Megara I don't know why Hercules never told you about our agreement but I'm sure he had his reasons..' King Admetus sounded sympathetically. It seemed strange to the king that he would keep such vital information from his wife.

'I'll bet.' Meg frowned darkly, her eyes narrowing as she already knew why Hercules didn't say anything to her. She had always had a problem with betrothal, ever since her own father had tried to marry her off. 'So why was Iole brought here if her husband has already been picked out?'

'To get to know him, of course.' King Admetus replied honestly and this made Meg kink a brow. 'It was the one thing your husband was most adamant about. He said that he would not let him marry my daughter without them getting to know one another first, he was very specific about that, there was to be no betrothal without it.' Meg kinked a brow, her husband was rarely adamant about anything. He was so laid back in life that he had just gone along with whatever she had said; it was hard to picture him being assertive about anything. She wondered if he had taken in her story about her betrothal better than she had thought. She'd shared with him the fear and utter panic of not knowing who she was supposed to marry and how it had driven her to run away from home… he had really listened to her..

'So, the agreement was she was to come here and get to know her future husband..' Meg sounded softly. 'For how long?' She added gently.

'For two years she will stay here..' King Admetus stated softly. '-then she and her husband-to-be will come to Pherea in order to be schooled in the ways of ruling a state. After all, they will be king and queen someday they will need to prepare for that.'

'I understand..' Meg replied in a shaky voice, her slim hands covering her face for a moment as she took in the truth of this deal. Iole had been here almost nine months and she was just learning the truth of this deal her husband had made now. With a slight sense of dread and a niggling feeling that she knew the answer already Meg removed her hands and lowered them back to her lap. 'And who is Iole's husband-to-be..' For a long moment King Admetus regarded her with surprise before he finally answered.

'Hyllos, of course.' He sounded simply causing Meg to nod a small smile tweaked her lips. At least there did seem to be a spark between her son and the young princess.

'Do the children know?' She asked suddenly.

'No.' Admetus responded briskly. 'Iole believes she is here to learn about the culture. Hercules and I both agreed that the children would only learn the truth when the time came for them to return to Pherea, of course with him gone I would like to know if this meets your approval.' Meg mused over this new information as his grey eyes watched her closely, his fingertips touching as he studied her face.

'Yes, I think it's important to let them figure each other out first.' Meg replied gently. 'At least their marriage will be based on how they feel about each other.' She knew by the look in Hyllos' eyes that he felt something for the young princess and like his father he was a kind and honest soul, he would take very good care of Iole and after getting to know Iole she had found her to be a very sweet kind-hearted girl. Hercules had been right, they were a good match and she had no doubt that they would be happy together.

'Well I'm glad to see we can see eye to eye on this matter..' King Admetus said with a smile as he pulled himself out of his seat. 'I should be going I have things that need attending to back home. I am sorry about your husband but I'm glad to see everybody is moving forward now..' He added with a smile.

'It's getting easier every day..' Meg replied returning his smile. As the king turned to leave Iole returned to the room with Hyllos in tow. The almost fifteen year old red-headed teenager glanced from his mother to the king curiously as they exchanged byes and Meg shut the door.

'What happened?' Hyllos asked the moment they were alone.

'Am I staying?' Iole added with a slightly hopeful inflection.

'He just wanted to see how everyone was doing and if his daughter were coping ok.' Meg replied folding her arms and jutting her hips in a relaxed stance.

'That's it..' Hyllos looked relieved and his expression was mirror in Iole.

'Yes..' The brunette added lightly, keeping schtum about their engagement. '-he was worried that Iole wasn't handling things well but I told him that she's a lot tougher than she looks.' Meg winked as she lied easily to the two teenagers... finally something Hades taught her had come in handy. The middle-aged brunette moved forwards and placed an arm around both Hyllos and Iole's shoulders. 'Now who's up for a nice cool glass of lemonade and some kolatsio?' She added as she pushed them both towards the kitchen.

* * *

…_Six months later…_

Once again Olympus was a wash of bright colours as the gods were celebrating the Spring Celebration. As usual the Great Coliseum was decorated with bright flowers and vines while nectar and spring wine was flowing. This year however not all the gods were present as due to their banishment from Olympus the Underworld family were nowhere in sight along with some of their loyal subterranean supporters like Hecate, Hypnos and Pasiphae and their son Phantosis. Although many of the gods didn't miss the presence of their Underworld relatives it made some of the other deities uncomfortable as celebrating spring without the Goddess of Life herself present seemed like they were being disrespectful to her. Spring was Persephone's season yet she was not allowed to come up and celebrate it with them because of the actions of her husband and her eldest child. However Zeus remained adamant that they were not getting back on this cloud. He was done. He'd had enough. Hades and his family of immortal miscreants had attacked him for the last time, there was to be no leniency… they were out and that was final. Nothing was going to sway him and to make sure it stayed that way he had the whole family's names chiselled in stone on the list of those banished from the big cloud.

Hiding in the shadows of what used to be Hades' usual leaning pillar was Hercules. In his six months on Olympus the golden-skinned God of Heroes had never been to an Olympian Celebration as the gods hid themselves from the mortal world through the winter months. He was nervous, not only because this was the first immortal party he had attended since he was a teenager but also his first as a fully-fledged god. Hercules had met all of the twelve main Olympians plus a few minor gods in his mortal life but today the cloud was packed with what looked like every single god of their Greek pantheon, minus the Underworld and there were dozens of new faces that he had never met before.. He didn't want to mess this up but when he was nervous he was a complete klutz and it made him look like a total dweeb. With a cool sounding title like God of Heroes he couldn't afford to spend eternity with that kind of reputation. The golden-skinned god groaned as he laid his head against the cool pillar trying to summon up the will to step out and mingle with the rest of the gods... but he just couldn't. He thought he had grown out of these anxieties years ago but something about all this had brought back all the insecurities of his youth..

'Hey Hercinator, what'cha hidin' away for, the party's out there man..' The sudden sound of Hermes' cheerful voice caused Hercules to jump and yell out in shock.

'_Arghh…!_' The golden-skinned God of Heroes fell backwards and landed on his rear on the soft bouncy cloud-flooring.

'Nice, real smooth Herc-babe..' The tiny blue-skinned Messenger God grinned as he floated down, lying on his stomach in mid-air level with Hercules who was still sitting on the floor. Hermes' rounded head did a quick scan of the room before turning back. '-but don't worry, nobody saw.'

'Hermes! Don't sneak up on me like that! You could've given me heart-failure..' The golden-skinned god hissed angrily towards the tiny blue god in a short white tunic.

'Oh yeh, like I should be so lucky..' Hermes drawled rolling his eyes that were hidden behind rose-tinted specs. 'Anyway, getting back to my main point babe; what are ya doin' hidin' back here? You should be out there..' He asked again then gestured out to the huge number of other gods as Hercules pulled himself to his feet and sighed heavily.

'I don't know if I can go out there.' Hercules sounded timidly as he peeked out from the row of pillars to the mass of multi-coloured people mingling together on the huge floor.

'What? Oh, you're not nervous are ya?' Hermes kinked a brow at the God of Heroes.

'_Ehhhh_… a little.' The golden-skinned God of Heroes held his fingers up with his fingers a little way apart from each other. 'I… I never realised how many gods there were before. I thought I'd met most of you already..' Hercules added as his baby-blue eyes scanned the huge crowds nervously. He could see Hephaestus and Aphrodite talking with Apollo, Ares and Bacchus. A little way away he recognised Cupid but not the teal goddess with her arm around him as they spoke to Amphitrite and Poseidon. A short way away he could see one of their sons; an ice-blonde-haired godling with pale-blue skin. He looked around Hyllos' age and was eyeing a blonde, red-skinned goddess of a similar age reproachfully. This moody little miniature of Aphrodite was arguing with the minty-green-skinned adoptive daughter of Athena whose name was either Nike or Dike. Hercules' attention was soon caught by a rainbow-haired goddess with rose-tinted skin in a flowing white chiton that zipped through the crowd chatting amiably with gods and checking if they were okay… she seemed to be doing Hermes' job while he was floating here with him. They were just the ones nearest him, there were many, many more out there..

'Herc buddy, you have only met a handful of us. In total there's about three hundred and seventy gods spanning over eight generations of pantheons and only two thirds of them are here today.' Hermes said with a light smile completely missing the fact that Hercules' face whitened a little at his information.

'I-I never knew there were so many gods.' The thirty-five year old golden-skinned god responded faintly.

'I know. Kinda blows your mind, huh?' Hermes drawled on as he smiled out at the party. 'Could you imagine them all in one room?' He then smirked to himself. 'Wow, that would be a nutty experience, right?' Hermes snickered to himself at the very idea of that reunion… it would probably destroy the very cosmos.

'But, how can I go out and face so many new faces?' Hercules asked looking stumped as he gazed at the crowd.

'You don't..' Hermes grinned widely. 'You just introduce yourself to a small few at a time. Hey, I've been around for four hundred and fifty eight years and I'm _still_ meeting new gods. Now stop worrying, you've eternity to get to know these people so get out there and start getting to know them.' Hermes then shoved Hercules hard outside the line of solid-cloud pillars. Unfortunately he didn't notice that another immortal had been walking nearby with a large vase of nectar. As the God of Heroes flew out from the pillars he collided with this lithe immortal.

'Oh!' The sound of a startled female voice cried out as the immortal fell down, dropping her vase in shock. Its nectar seeped through the cloudy floor as the vase shattered on impact…

'Oof!' Hercules grunted as he hit the ground.

'_Ooh_.. Tough break.' Hermes winced guiltily with a wide grin. 'You're on your own Herc; I gotta make like Hades' personality and split.' He added before vanishing off in a neon blue blur.

'Oh my gosh, I am _so_ sorry. Here, let me help you up.' Hercules scrambled to his feet and hooked his golden-tanned arm around the soft-yellow-skinned arm of the immortal goddess he had knocked over. He couldn't see her face as it was covered by a glorious head of long, honey-gold hair and her aura glowed the palest gold like nectar. He noticed she was wearing a svelte gown of soft orange that made her hair and skin stand out brightly, a band of brown synched her willow frame giving her the illusion of curves, kinda like Meg had had before she'd had Hyllos.

'Uh… oh.. th-thank you.' The female goddess stammered, still a little dazed from being knocked over. She allowed Hercules to pull her up off the floor before letting go of here when she was standing up on her two feet.

'I-I'm real sorry about the vase of nectar, I-I'll getcha a new one.' Hercules stammered nervously, not wanting her to get mad at him for accidently running into her. The last thing he wanted was to upset somebody at his first celebration.

'Oh, it's ok. I have an eternal supply round back.' The soft-golden-skinned goddess said sweetly then pushed her golden-hair out of her face and finally looked at him with a set of piercing blue eyes which were lined with black kohl-pencil. 'But you're sweet to offer.' Her eyes narrowed at him as her ruby-painted lips curved into a soft smile.

Hercules blinked at her, his mouth falling slightly open as he gazed at her beauty… she was stunning. He felt himself going weak at the knees, his lips curving into a goofy smile… _and she thought he was sweet!_

'So… do I get to know your name?' The soft-golden-skinned goddess asked gently as she gazed at him, unable to rip her eyes away from his handsome face.

'Uh, uh, heh, heh… mah-my name?' He stuttered breathlessly, inwardly cursing himself. Why couldn't he talk to pretty girls without finding himself spluttering like a fool?

The soft-golden goddess giggled slightly at his stammering and her eyes narrowed warmly.

'Are you always this adorable?' She asked amiably before suddenly blushing a fierce shade of red in mortification over her own words. 'Oh my gosh! Why did I say that? I'm _so_ _embarrassed_.' Hercules couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle as she covered her eyes.

'Don't be. My name is Hercules, the God of Heroes. What's your name?' His baby-blue eyes narrowed adorably at her as he placed a hand gently on her shoulder. She pulled her hand away from her face and looked up into his kind blue eyes with her darker blue ones.

'Hebe. My name is Hebe, the Goddess of Youth.' She replied as her blushes faded once more and she smiled at him. 'So Hercules, would you mind helping me bring out another vase of nectar?' She asked sweetly, snapping her fingers and causing the broken bits of vase littering the floor to vanish into a shimmer of gold. Hercules immediately beamed widely at her.

'Well, since I'm the reason it broke in the first place I guess I owe you that.' He replied lightly.

'Then perhaps we could get to know each other with the first cup of nectar out of it.' Hebe added as she fluttered her black eyelashes with innocent allure.

'I'd like that..' The God of Heroes smiled warmly at her as he linked arms with her and the two of them began walking back across the Great Coliseum together…

* * *

…Zeus and Hera smiled as they spotted Hercules walking and talking with their daughter Hebe. They'd both been sitting on the slightly raised platform which had a couple of cloudy chez-lounges form out of the cloudy floor.

'Hah! Didn't I tell you they'd make a cute couple someday?' Zeus sounded brightly as he narrowed his sky blue eyes at his wife with a smug smile. 'They're perfect for each other.'

'Well, don't go interfering dear.' The pink-skinned Goddess of Marriage smiled amiably at her husband. 'Let him come to you. After all, he's going to need your help to get passed the mortal ideals of not dating siblings when he finds out she's his sister.' Her blue eyes narrowed at her husband and brother as she took a sip of her drink.

'That's very true.' Zeus said lightly with a smile to his wife and sister.

* * *

The spring sun was shining brightly in Thebes and with Prometheus Academy being off for the a long spring weekend Meg took both Iole and Hyllos with her into market so they could pick up the things they'd need to see them through the next few days. As Meg steered the family's new honey-maned mare through the streets of Thebes they admired the decorations that the town were putting up for the Spring Celebrations that would be taking place the next day. When Meg parked the chariot Iole and Hyllos jumped out immediately looking keenly around the setup of booths and stalls of Thebes' first farmer's market of the new season.

'Hey mom, can Iole and I go have a look around and meet you back here later?' Hyllos asked Meg as the almost fifteen year old red-headed boy helped his mother down from the chariot.

'Huh? Oh sure Hyl, you kids have fun..' She drawled amiably as she pulled out her wicker basket from the back of the chariot along with a feed-bag for their new horse. 'Just be safe..' She added as the middle-aged brunette with the messy bun offered the bag of oats and grain to their honey-maned horse.

'We will mom..' Hyllos rolled his violet eyes then gripped Iole's hand and pulled the almost fifteen year old girl in blue with him.

'Bye Meg..' The dark-blonde princess sounded before being dragged away by Hyllos' and the two quickly vanished into the crowd.

'Buh-bye..' Meg waved them off with a smile and a light shake of the head before she moved slowly through the stalls browsing over what the farmers were selling. As she browsed the stalls she greeted the merchants warmly, most of them either had known her deceased husband or still knew his aging adoptive father Amphytrion. Because of this Meg knew how to get a good deal on the things she wanted and soon enough the middle-aged brunette had managed to track down everything she would need to keep her household running. By the time she had packed up the chariot the two teenagers still hadn't returned from whatever they had been doing in the market. This wasn't like them, usually Iole and Hyllos would notice when she was ready to go. Wondering what could possibly be keeping them Meg went to go and see where they had gone. It took her a little while but she eventually tracked down Iole standing with her arms folded and a serene smile on her face. She walked up to the young princess about to ask where Hyllos had got to when she suddenly her the familiar voice of her son. Meg immediately turned and her violet eyes widened as she spotted her kind-hearted son sitting on a hay-bail stack surrounded by a group of children between the ages of five and ten.

'-and suddenly the brave Hercules found himself facing off the thirty-headed hydra with his noble steed Pegasus. Spitting and hissing angrily while glaring at him through their cruel yellow snake-like eyes. Before our brave hero knew it one head snapped forward and separated him from his flying steed! Our hero fell _straight_ into the hoard of heads below!' Hyllos said miming falling with his hand as the kids around him gasped, a couple clasping their hands over their mouths.

'Then what happened!' A little boy in a yellow chiton exclaimed keenly, holding a Hercules action figure.

Meg couldn't help but smile, her son was telling his father's story just as Hercules had told it to him when he was little. As she moved closer to Iole Hyllos continued and Iole smiled at the middle-aged widow of Hercules.

'Is it time to go?' The dark-blonde-haired princess asked.

'We'll let him finish the story first.' Meg smiled lightly. 'He's just got to the best part.'

'Of course, you were there!' Iole exclaimed in a hushed whisper as Hyllos described how his father had flew through the horde of hydra heads with the kids on the edge of their seats.

'So were most of these kids' parents and grandparents.' Meg replied then shushed Iole so they could hear Hyllos.

'-Hercules was pinned up against the stone with the hydra heads hissing dangerously, it seemed like this was the end..' As her son described the scene Meg could still picture Hades' leering face and his sinister words still made her blood chill… _My favourite part of the game.. Sudden death!... _But of course, nobody knew the Lord of the Dead had ever been there.

'Then, as if Zeus himself were showing Hercules the way, a blitz of lightening lit up the cliff-edge behind him. Seeing his only chance at taking down the vicious beast Hercules slammed his fists into the cliff causing a massive landslide of rocks to rain down on both himself and covered both the beast and our valiant hero.' He paused for effect and to drink in the gasps from the little children, just like the crowd had done on the day of the battle.

'The beast's claw moved…' Hyllos declared and the children hissed in fear together. Meg smiled widely at her son as he continued, the kids' attention still rapt for the end of the tale. 'And then… Hercules burst free the dead hydra's claw!' Immediately the children cheered and the other adults who were watching with Meg and Iole clapped warmly at the story.

'Sorry mom. Story went long, are you ready to go?' The red-headed fourteen year old boy spoke lightly then waved as a few kids said their byes as they ran back to their parents. Hyllos immediately took the wicker basket off of his mother as they all headed back in the direction of their chariot.

'You're quite the storyteller Hyl; you had all those kids hanging onto your every word.' Meg said as she boarded the chariot then took hold of the reins and waited for the two teenagers to board.

'I just told the story the same way dad told it to me when I was little.' The red-headed teenager replied with a disregarding shrug as he settled with Iole beside her. She then cracked the reins and their honey-maned steed and immediately the young mare moved and they headed back in the direction of the main road home.

'You tell it well, you're father would be proud of you.' Meg replied lightly and Iole smiled warmly at Hyllos.

'Thanks mom.' The young red-headed teenager replied quietly as a sad smile spread over his face. It was clear that the young boy still missed his father. Meg glanced from the road to her son for a split second and saw Iole taking his hand and rubbing his knuckles affectionately.

'It's ok.' She uttered softly. 'We both miss him too.' Meg smiled to herself as she heard the young girl say this before it changed to a grimace as a large dip in the road appeared. The middle-aged brunette gasped and jerked the reins of the chariot in an attempt to avoid it. Unfortunately the chariot didn't swerve enough and jolted as they hit the bump causing all three of them to cry out in shock as the chariot tilted to the left. It then dropped and slammed to the ground as the left-side wheel broke free and rolled down the slope and into the ditch. As Iole and Hyllos jolted to her side in the impact Meg yanked on the reins and the honey-maned mare came to a stop, tapping her foot nervously as and fidgeting as her owners slid out of the tilted chariot.

'Great, just great.' Meg groaned as she helped Iole to her feet. 'Alright.. Iole, you calm down Melis, Hyllos, gather up the groceries..' She gestured to their shopping which had spilled out onto the side of the road. '-I'll go retrieve the wheel..' The middle-aged brunette then hitched up her skirt to reveal her slim ankles and slowly began to move towards the wheel.

'Can I give you folks a hand?' A male voice sounded in concern as a chariot that had been coming the opposite way slowed down. Meg frowned to herself in slight irritation. Just because she was a woman with two teenage children it did not mean that they were completely helpless.

'No thanks, we're fine..' She sounded dismissively grabbing the wheel and attempting to pull it up. It was heavy so she slowly dragged it up the slight embankment.

'Here. Let me give you a hand.' He added as the blonde-haired man with pale blue toga got off his chariot and moved to her. 'It looks heavy.'

'My son can help me when he's finished gathering the groceries.' Meg added feeling more irritated… did this guy not take a hint. 'But if you do wanna be helpful you could go to town and get us a chariot mechanic.' The middle-aged brunette finally turned to look at the man who had stopped to help them. He was tall, slightly tanned and muscled, nowhere near as big as her deceased husband but enough to make any woman melt. His blonde hair was shoulder-length and held by a blue sweatband that complimented his dark-blue eyes. The crows-feet around his eyes crinkled as he smiled at her.

'I am a chariot mechanic..' He sounded lightly.

'Peachy..' Meg uttered under her breath. This was just her luck.

'So, will you let me help you get back on the road or do you want me to waste twenty minutes by going back to town and getting you a different mechanic?' The handsome middle-aged man said with a hint of jesting in his tone.

'Oh. Alright, alright, get it rolling then.' Meg replied with a sigh and he flashed her a handsome grin before taking the wheel off of her and lifting it to the chariot.

'Your wish is my command.' He added and Meg scowled at him before her violet gaze looked around to the children to find Hyllos had returned with the groceries and was stood by Iole and their young mare Melis.

'Son, you look like a strong lad, you want to give me a hand?' The man sounded to her son and immediately Hyllos agreed, handing the groceries to Iole and moving towards the chariot mechanic .

'What do you need me to do?' Hyllos asked him curiously.

'Take this…' The blonde man passed him the wheel. '-and when I lift the side I want you to slide it onto the axel..'

'Ok mister..' Hyllos replied accepting the wheel. The man then positioned himself to lift the chariot of the ground before rubbing a little dirt into his hands to give him a better grip. Then slowly the middle-aged blonde man lifted the chariot upwards. Although he was nowhere near as strong as her ex-husband had been the way he lifted the chariot still caused Meg's violet eyes to widen.

'He seems nice, doesn't he?' Iole uttered softly with a smile.

'Sure..' Meg broke off as something soft and white fell passed her face. Looking to see what it was the brunette with the messy bun spotted a long white feather sitting in the dust by her feet. Curiously she bent down and picked it up, lifting it to examine it. This white feather was far too big to be a bird feather… but it was the same size and shape as the wing feathers of Pegasus. Her violet eyes widened before she realised the symbolism and slowly the pupils turned back to the blonde-haired man as he placed the chariot back on the ground with the wheel sitting in place.

'So…' Meg drawled as she held the feather in one hand and moved towards the man fixing her chariot. '-do you have a name to go along with those promising muscles?' She smiled sweetly as her son pointedly looked away from her harmless flirting.

'Iolaus..' The man replied as he moved to his chariot and pulled out a few tools so he could fix the wheel back into place. 'And you?' He added with a curious smirk.

'Iolaus, huh?' Meg smirked in amusement before sticking out her hand. 'Megara, my friends call me Meg, at least the few I have do.'

* * *

…High above the mortal world Pegasus snorted angrily at Hercules for ripping out one of his wing-feathers before flying off in a sulk. Hebe, who'd been sitting next to Hercules on the cloud turned to call him back.

'Pegasus..'

'Ah, he'll get over it, just let him sulk in peace..' The golden-skinned God of Heroes drawled lazily with a glance at the speck that was Pegasus as the horse flew back to Olympus alone.

'I still don't understand why you didn't want to borrow one of Cupid's arrows..' The light-golden-skinned goddess said.

'Nah, she doesn't need it and it wouldn't be right to do that..' Hercules replied with a smile as his large golden-tanned hand curved around her waist as the Goddess of Youth leant her head on his shoulder.

'I guess.' Hebe replied lightly before glancing up at his handsome face. 'I still don't understand one thing though..' She added, lifting her head and facing her new boyfriend.

'What's that?' Hercules asked with a light frown.

'You remember telling me about your mortal life and death..' She mused gently and Hercules nodded with a smile. 'How did you figure out that Thanatos wasn't to blame for your death?' The light-golden-skinned asked as curiosity flashed in her deep-blue eyes.

'I'm not sure.' Hercules replied. 'It must have something to do with my powers as God of Heroes. When I was a mortal my mind worked as a mortal's did, by only remembering a few significant details of my life but when Persephone made me immortal it brought back every single detail that I had forgotten. So when I became a god it was like a light went off in my head, everything suddenly made sense. It's like, part of my powers as God of Heroes is to be able to see the bigger picture..' He then sighed and added with a smile. 'I guess that sounds a little crazy, huh?'

'Hey, this is Greece and we're gods, if we can give birth out of our thighs and heads I don't see why this can't be feasible either..' Hebe smiled as her deep-blue eyes narrowed affectionately. 'You need to stop thinking like a mortal. Now come on, we promised mom and dad we'd join them for afternoon nectar.' She added sweetly before kissing him lightly on the cheek.

'Heh, yeh…' Hercules drawled. 'I need to work on that.' He laughed freely getting to his feet before steering the nimbus cloud they had been sitting on back in the direction of Olympus…

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey peeps, yes I know I will probably upset a few Hercules and Meg by separating them of and then having them move on to other partners but I'm only following Greek myth so you can't be too mad, right? I haven't done any writing on Hebe since P.o.P this was deliberate as I was saving her for this moment now. Hebe was the Goddess of Youth, the cupbearer (so she would have had access to Olympus' supply of nectar) and the immortal wife of Hercules, offered to him by Zeus himself… how could I not pair them off? As for Iolaus, in the original myth was given Meg by Hercules and the two were supposed to have had a peaceful marriage… it seemed right to hint at the end that Iolaus was a nice guy, like her former husband as I think that would have its appeal to Meg.._

_And finally, the truth of Iole's purpose in the house is revealed… many of you guessed this correctly so give yourselves a round of applause. Hercules entered the contest on behalf of Hyllos and the contest was a fix, meaning that the two fathers had planned the whole thing from the beginning! How much did you guys guess right… of course not even I'm one-hundred percent sure why Hercules never told Meg the whole story. Was he concerned about her feelings concerning betrothal? Did he think it was so obvious that he didn't need to? I'll let you decide…._

_Anyway, with that door closed the final chapters will now focus on Hades and his family in the Underworld and how they are coping with being separated from the rest of the cosmos…_

_Until then…_

_~Ditzy x_


End file.
